Meaning of avatar | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
2. An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
   Hinduism
3. The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially a personification or incarnation.
4. A complex and dynamic digital representation of a person or being in the form of a digital model, used online as a simulation or emulation of a person, or as a person's online alter ego, in a virtual world, virtual chat room, or metaverse.
   Internet
5. A simple and static or nearly static digital representation of a person or being in the form of a small digital object, used online as a simulacrum or token of a person or that person's online alter ego, in any digital environment but especially in nonvirtual, nonmetaversal ones.
   Internet

Equivalents

Examples

“...that a new avatar of Mrs. Siddons has appeared at Covent Garden, in the shape⟳ of her niece Fanny Kemble...”

“And honest Alan, who was a grim fire-eater in his day, has in this new avatar no more desperate purpose than to steal⟳ some young gentleman's attention from his Ovid, […] [Contrasting the historical Alan Breac with his incarnation in the novel.]”

“The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use⟳ to communicate with each other in the Metaverse.”

“A virtual intelligence is an advanced form⟳ of user interface software. VIs use⟳ a variety of methods to simulate natural conversation, including an audio interface and an avatar personality to interact with.”

“Devices now track and record⟳ our every move⟳ and, whether we like⟳ it or not, each one of us will bequeath to posterity a virtual avatar, a digital being whose calls, messages, transactions, loves and losses will live⟳ on in a vast, unregulated cyberspace. The afterlife has arrived, at least for our cyberbeings.”

“Last⟳ year, a 14-year-old boy died by suicide after falling in love⟳ with a chatbot from Character.AI. The last⟳ thing he did was have⟳ a conversation with an AI avatar that, possibly failing to recognize the severity of the situation, reportedly encouraged him to go through with his plan⟳ to “join⟳ her”.”

CEFR level