What does "avatar" mean?
An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
Avatar
/əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
- Grammar: avatar is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: embodiment, incarnation, anabolism, angelophany.
- Useful contrasts: antithesis, opposite, real person.
- Usage evidence: Na'vi language is used in Avatar.
How to use "avatar"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "avatar" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "avatar" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "avatar" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "avatar" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "avatar" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "embodiment" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "avatar", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu. Hinduism
- 2 the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form wordnet
- 3 The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially a personification or incarnation.
"...that a new avatar of Mrs. Siddons has appeared at Covent Garden, in the shape of her niece Fanny Kemble..."
- 4 a new personification of a familiar idea wordnet
- 5 A complex and dynamic digital representation of a person or being in the form of a digital model, used online as a simulation or emulation of a person, or as a person's online alter ego, in a virtual world, virtual chat room, or metaverse. Internet
"The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with each other in the Metaverse."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A simple and static or nearly static digital representation of a person or being in the form of a small digital object, used online as a simulacrum or token of a person or that person's online alter ego, in any digital environment but especially in nonvirtual, nonmetaversal ones. Internet
Proper Noun
- 1 A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
Antonyms
Example
"Na'vi language is used in Avatar."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "avatar"?
Common synonyms include: embodiment, incarnation, anabolism, angelophany, apparition, appearance.
How do you use "avatar" in a sentence?
Na'vi language is used in Avatar.
How do you pronounce "avatar"?
Pronounced /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First use appears c. 1784, in The Hindu Wife; or, The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and the vṛddhi-stem of the root √तॄ (√tṝ, “to cross”). In the computing sense, some use appeared in video games in the 1980s, such as the online roleplaying game Habitat (1985) by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), by Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, later versions of the Ultima series (following religious use in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985)), and the pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun (1989). Also popularized by the novel Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra).