Meaning

2 senses
  1. (transitive)To instruct or improve morally or intellectually.

    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.

    bestärken, erbauen, edifizieren

    назидатьnazidatʹ, наставля́тьnastavljátʹ

  2. (archaic)To build, construct.

More definitions
  • make understand

Examples

4 sentences
  1. What Tom said wasn't very edifying.

    CC0 · Tatoeba · ddnktr · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. His speech was meant to edify, not to attack.

  3. The pastor's sermons may bore you, but they are morally edifying.

    ruПроповеди пастора могут вам надоесть, но с точки зрения морали они поучительны. — odexed

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · darinmex · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. Good books can edify the mind as well as entertain it.

Translations

4 languages
Русский
By meaning 1
to instruct or improve morally or intellectually:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
to instruct or improve morally or intellectually:

Origin

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

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

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

edifies, edifying, edified, edified
Base formedify · to edify
3rd person singularedifies
Present participleedifying
Past simpleedified
Past participleedified

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyedify
he, she, itedifies

Past simpleLesson

all personsedified

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave edified
he, she, ithas edified

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill edify

Synonyms

1 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

7 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
edify — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto