[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/personification/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [P](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/p/) / personification

# personification

noun (personification, uncountable; a personification, personifications)

«personification» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Personification is a way of writing that gives human feelings or actions to things that are not human: «The wind howled.» «The sun smiled down.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#m1)
2. A personification of something is a person or character who stands for an idea: Father Time is a personification of time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#m2)

### In the lessons

In English lessons, personification is a key figure of speech for poetry and descriptive writing, alongside similes and metaphors; pupils find it in poems («the leaves danced») and use it to make settings come alive. In art and history, the statue of Justice holding scales is a personification. Phrases: «use personification», «an example of personification», «the personification of».

### Examples

- «The trees whispered secrets» is personification. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x1)
- Underline the personification in the poem. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x2)
- «The angry sea swallowed the boat» uses personification. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x3)
- Father Christmas is a personification of Christmas giving. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x4)
- The old car coughed and groaned up the hill. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x5)
- She was the personification of kindness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x6)
- Hebe was the personification of eternal youth under its most attractive and joyous aspect. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/#x7)

### Note

Verb: «personify» (personifies, personified). Long word: per-son-i-fi-ca-tion. Different from a simile (uses like/as) and a metaphor (says something is something else); personification is a kind of metaphor that makes things act like people.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «personification» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«personification» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/personification.html) on Mova free.