1
Core meaning
A person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
Example
The compact design is the epitome of functional simplicity.
epitome
/ɪˈpɪtəmi/ · ih-PIT-uh-meenoun
A person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
Use epitome to express this relationship precisely: a person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
What epitome Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
She became the epitome of patient leadership.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The building is often treated as an epitome of the style.
Use epitome Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The compact design is the epitome of functional simplicity.
She became the epitome of patient leadership.
The building is often treated as an epitome of the style.
Precision Matters
Epitome overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
epitome
vs.Means a person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
anomaly
Means something outside what is normal, expected, or consistent with a pattern.
epitome
vs.Means a person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
neophyte
Means a beginner or recent convert who is new to a subject, activity, organization, or belief.
epitome
vs.Means a person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
morass
Means a confusing, complicated, or difficult situation from which progress or escape is hard; literally, boggy ground.
epitome
vs.Means a person or thing that is a perfect or highly representative example of a quality or type.
quintessential
Means representing the most typical, perfect, or defining example of a quality, class, or style.
Test epitome in Context
It is presented as the perfect representative example.
1
With its balanced proportions and minimal ornament, the house is considered the ___ of modernist restraint.