What's the difference between be and personify?

Be


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have ex/stence.
  • (v. i.) To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man.
  • (v. i.) To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.
  • (v. i.) To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to.

Example Sentences:

Personify


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To regard, treat, or represent as a person; to represent as a rational being.
  • (v. t.) To be the embodiment or personification of; to impersonate; as, he personifies the law.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) And Pippi Longstocking, her most famous character, comes really close to being the personified proof of that… So where did Pippi come from?
  • (2) This white child had as his alter-ego, really as part of his self-representation, a black half of the self, personified as a black boy whom he fantasized to be his twin.
  • (3) What the papers say The Economist (for Obama) "A man who once personified hope and centrism set a new low by unleashing attacks on Mitt Romney even before the first Republican primary.
  • (4) He is sexism, male domination, and oppression against women personified.
  • (5) The Conservative reaction, personified by David Cameron , is to promote social mobility and meritocracy.
  • (6) Are they going to move in the direction of logic and rationality, or are they going to continue to pursue this anti-scientific fringe movement within their party that is personified by people liked Ted Cruz ?
  • (7) Robert Holcomb perhaps personified what Terry describes today as "a different breed of black soldier entering the battlefield" in the latter half of the 1960s.
  • (8) Yet the campaign fed doubts among party managers about Sir Alec's ability to personify enterprise, yout hfulness, and relevance to contemporary circumstances.
  • (9) They both ran in the 2011 primaries won by Hollande, and personified two styles, two political orientations within the Socialist party.
  • (10) When asked why, he said: “It was about finding that balance that would bring bipartisan support to the bill.” Reaching across the aisle in search of compromise and consensus is the professed goal of almost every candidate for public office in the US, particularly in recent times, when presidents have come to personify not unity but division.
  • (11) Brody is, after all, personifying a struggle between good and evil: the good bit is the all-American father-hero-soldier; the bad is the convert to Islam and terrorism (what a myth-busting connection, thanks Homeland!)
  • (12) He decorates games, rarely dominates them, and personified the lack of ruthlessness on display.
  • (13) Whether or not we, or you, agree, there will be somebody who truly believes that such and such a new act are magnificence magnified and brilliance personified.
  • (14) I’m not running against him or against anyone else.” How long Rubio can maintain the sunny demeanor that has personified his candidacy thus far is unclear.
  • (15) It can be shown that the evolution of the Health Service has been shaped by three differing types of underlying logic: the professional (because the technical side is chiefly represented by the professionals who personify the scientific and technical aspects of health problems), the social and the economic.
  • (16) There is simply an expectation of excellence that he personifies that made us all remember why we wanted to work at the Washington Post and it’s sort of euphoric.” Later in 2013 the Graham family sold the business to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose internet background brought fresh ideas and deep pockets.
  • (17) If, however, you were multinational company, Hartnett would be indulgence personified.
  • (18) The Telegraph's religion editor and Church of England priest George Pitcher has described him as personifying "the new amorality of avaricious, red-top, vulgar New Britain".
  • (19) Ryan Bertrand personified this when taking an age to deliver a free-kick and then banging it high into the Stretford End.
  • (20) He personifies the new dispensation, in which men and women glide between corporations and politics, and appear to act as agents for big business within government.