instantiate
/ɪnˈstænʃieɪt/
instantiate verb: to represent (a concept, theme, or principle) by an instance.
Verb
instantiate (third-person singular simple present instantiates, present participle instantiating, simple past and past participle instantiated)
- To represent (a concept, theme, or principle) by an instance.
- To see and test the result of one's CSS for any particular HTML element, one must instantiate that element in a document.
- In the eighteenth century, this was instantiated in writings which developed the view that ‘savages’ exhibited more virtue and moral nobility than their conquerors.2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 195
- To create an object (an instance) of a specific class.
- To instantiate a class, we call its constructor.
Examples of instantiate in a sentence
- It holds that everything is rationally intelligible only so far as it instantiates mathematical rules and ratios.
- There is no colour property common to, or instantiated in, both balls (similarly all other properties and relations).
- You want the compiler to squawk if you try to instantiate for a type that doesn't implement IPrioritizable.
Synonyms of instantiate
Forms of instantiate
| third-person singular present | instantiates |
|---|---|
| present participle | instantiating |
| past participle | instantiated |
| past | instantiated |
| alternative form | instanciate |
Origin of instantiate
From Latin instāntia + -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, instance + -ate.
Words formed from instantiate
Questions about instantiate
- What does instantiate mean?
- Instantiate means to represent (a concept, theme, or principle) by an instance.
- What part of speech is instantiate?
- Instantiate is a verb.
- How do you pronounce instantiate?
- Instantiate is pronounced /ɪnˈstænʃieɪt/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of instantiate?
- The past tense of instantiate is instantiated.
Words near instantiate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: instantiate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-instantiate.wav.
Cite this entry: “instantiate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/instantiate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.