reify

verb

re·​ify ˈrā-ə-ˌfī 

ˈrē-

reified; reifying

transitive verb

: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)

… a culture can be reified into a body of traditions …

—M. J. Herskovits

Did you know?

Reify is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is concrete. Fittingly, it comes from a word that is an ancestor of real—the Latin noun res, meaning "thing." Both reify and the related noun reification first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. Each word combines the Latin res with an English suffix (-fy and -fication, respectively) that comes from the Latin verb -ficare, meaning "to make." In general use, the words refer to the act of considering or presenting an abstract idea or concept in real or material terms, or of assessing something by use of a concrete example.

Examples of reify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The trip also reified her commitment to protecting marine areas and preserving the ecology of ecosystems like that of Antarctica. —Rebecca Schneid, TIME, 24 Sep. 2024

There are other instances of death that some use to reify the examples of the unlucky Friday, the 13th, including the legend that more than 100 of the Knights Templar are believed to have been tortured and killed by France’s King Philip IV on Friday, Oct. 13, 1307. —Rebecca Schneid, TIME, 13 Sep. 2024

By framing animal exploitation as a consumer issue, animal advocates unwittingly reified animal agriculture’s narrative: that eating their products was a matter of personal choice — a choice that vegan extremists sought to take away. —Crystal Heath, Vox, 9 Aug. 2024

As in so many fields, white Euro-American men have largely controlled the rules of what constitutes good art, and these rules conveniently reified their own superiority, much as the wine-classifying system developed in France continues to proffer that French wine is the best. —Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 30 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin res thing — more at real

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!