Edify

//ˈɛdɪfaɪ// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To build, construct. archaic

    "That Castle was most goodly edifyde, / And plaste for pleasure nigh that forrest syde […]"

  2. 2
    make understand wordnet
  3. 3
    To instruct or improve morally or intellectually. transitive

    "January 23, 1783, Edward Gibbon, letter to Dr. Priestley It does not appear probable that our dispute [about miracles] would either edify or enlighten the public."

Synonyms

All synonyms
enlightenacculturateadvanceameliorateamendbetter

Example

More examples

"Good books can edify the mind as well as entertain it."

Etymology

From Old French edifier (“to build, to edify”), from Latin aedificare (“build”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.