From Middle English incarnat, incarnate, from el. incarnātus, past participle of incarnārī ("be made flesh"), from in- + Latin carō.

• (America) IPA: /ɪnˈ kɑːɹ.nɪt/, /ɪnˈ kɑːɹ.neɪt/
• (RP) IPA: /ɪnˈ kɑːneɪt/, /ɪnˈ kɑːnət/

incarnate (not comparable)

1. (traditionally postpositive, now frequently prepositive) Embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, form; personified.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:

     Here shalt thou sit incarnate.

   • 1751-1753, John Jortin, Remarks on Ecclesiastical History

     He […] represents the emperor and his wife as two devils incarnate, sent into the world for the destruction of mankind.

2. (obsolete) Flesh-colored, crimson.
   • 1721, John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It, and the Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. and Queen Mary the First. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: John Wyat, →OCLC ↗:

     Yards of Turkey silk incarnate.

• German: fleischgeworden, inkarnat
• Russian: во плоти́
• Spanish: encarnado

From the past participle stem of , from in- + carō ("flesh").

• (America) IPA: /ɪnˈ kɑːɹ.nɪt/, /ɪnˈ kɑːɹ.neɪt/
• (RP) IPA: /ˈ ɪnkɑːneɪt/, /ɪnˈ kɑːneɪt/

incarnate (incarnates, present participle incarnating; simple past and past participle incarnated)

1. (transitive) To embody in flesh, invest with a bodily, especially a human, form.
   • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 2, in The Whisperer in Darkness:

     For one thing, we virtually decided that these morbidities and the hellish Himalayan Mi-Go were one and the same order of incarnated nightmare.

2. (obsolete, intransitive) To incarn; to become covered with flesh, to heal over.
   • 1760, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Penguin, published 2003, page 83:

     My uncle Toby’s wound was near well, and as soon as the surgeon recovered his surprize, and could get leave to say as much—he told him, 'twas just beginning to incarnate.

3. (transitive) To make carnal; to reduce the spiritual nature of.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:

     This essence to incarnate and imbrute, / That to the height of deity aspired.

4. (transitive, figurative) To put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea.

• carnal
• excarnate
• excarnation
• incarnation
• reincarnate
• reincarnation

• Portuguese: encarnar
• Russian: воплоща́ть
• Spanish: encarnar

• Italian: concretizzare, materializzare
• Portuguese: encarnar
• Russian: осуществля́ть
• Spanish: encarnar

From in- + carnate.

incarnate (not comparable)

1. Not in the flesh; spiritual.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC ↗:

     I fear nothing […] that devil carnate or incarnate can fairly do.