1. the act of treating an abstract concept as if it were a concrete, material thing
Usage: philosophy; sociology
2. the mental conversion of a person or abstract concept into a thing
Usage: psychology

Examples

• The reification of love as Cupid made the emotion easier to understand.
• Marx criticized the reification of social relationships in capitalist society.
• The reification of intelligence as a single number ignores its complexity.
• Advertisers often use reification to make abstract benefits seem tangible.
• The philosopher warned against the reification of mental processes.
• Corporate culture sometimes involves the reification of employees as resources.