1. treating or regarding an abstract concept, quality, or idea as if it were a concrete, independent thing or substance
Usage: formal; philosophy and theology; present participle of hypostasize
2. in theology, to give or ascribe a distinct subsistence or personality to (a divine attribute or principle)
Usage: theology; formal; present participle of hypostasize

Examples

• The philosopher criticized hypostasizing abstract virtues as if they were independent beings.
• Medieval theologians engaged in hypostasizing divine attributes to explain the nature of God.
• By hypostasizing fear, the author transformed an emotion into a character in the narrative.
• The danger of hypostasizing social concepts is that we forget they are human constructs.
• Religious traditions sometimes involve hypostasizing spiritual principles as distinct entities.
• Critics argue that hypostasizing the market obscures the human decisions behind economic systems.