avatar

IPA/ˈævətɑː(r)/
KK[ˈævətˌɑr]IPA/ˈævətɑːr/

avatar — noun

  • avatarsingular
  • avatarsplural

1. a small picture or cartoon figure chosen by a user to stand in for them inside a

1.nounB2
Definition

a small picture or cartoon figure chosen by a user to stand in for them inside an online game, chat app, or social media profile; the user can usually customise its look and, in games, control where it goes.

Example

Mei picked a smiling fox as her avatar on the children's reading app.

pick/choose + [animal/character] + as + possessive avatar

Players can dress their avatars in armour, hats, and glowing wings.

plural avatars as game characters

Common collocations
  • choose an avatar
  • customise your avatar
  • animated avatar
  • 3D avatar
  • cartoon avatar
Synonyms
  • profile picture

    the photo on a social profile; usually a real photo, while an avatar is often a drawing or character

  • icon

    any small identifying image; broader than avatar and not always tied to one user

  • character

    in games, the figure you control; overlaps with avatar but emphasises the in-game role

Grammar Patterns

choose/create/use an avatar

Usage Note

Almost always introduced with a possessive (my/your/her/their avatar) or with a verb of choosing or creating. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is everyday and digital; sense 2 is religious and rare in conversation.

Common Mistakes

I made an avatar of me.
I made an avatar of myself.
use the reflexive when the avatar represents the speaker.
Please send me your avatar number.
Please send me your avatar.
an avatar is the picture itself, not a code or number.

2. in Hindu belief, the human or animal body that a god takes when stepping down fr

2.nounC1
Definition

in Hindu belief, the human or animal body that a god takes when stepping down from heaven to live among people on earth — for example, the prince Rama and the cowherd boy Krishna are both said to be avatars of the god Vishnu.

Example

Hindus honour Rama as an avatar of Vishnu who came to defeat evil on earth.

an avatar of + [deity name]

The temple wall shows the ten avatars of Vishnu, including a fish and a turtle.

the [number] avatars of + [deity]

Common collocations
  • an avatar of Vishnu
  • the ten avatars
  • human avatar
  • divine avatar
Synonyms
  • incarnation

    broader; used across many religions for a god taking bodily form

  • manifestation

    any visible form a deity takes, including non-physical signs; less concrete than avatar

Grammar Patterns

an avatar of [deity]

Usage Note

Mostly appears in writing about religion, mythology, or Indian culture. Often pre-modified by a number (the ten avatars) or by an adjective describing the form. Distinguish from sense 1: this avatar is a divine being in flesh, not a digital picture.

Common Mistakes

Jesus is the avatar of God in Christianity.
Jesus is the incarnation of God in Christianity.
'avatar' in the religious sense is used for Hindu and related traditions, not Christian theology.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a small image that stands in for a user online, but they aren't interchangeable. An 'avatar' is usually a chosen drawing, cartoon, or 3D figure — it can move, change clothes, or wave inside a game or virtual space. A 'profile picture' (often shortened to 'profile pic' or 'pfp') is the still photo on a social media profile, and is normally a real photo of the user. An 'icon' is any small identifying image and can belong to a brand, an app, or a person — it does not have to represent a single user. A 'character' is the figure you actually control in a game; every game character is an avatar, but not every avatar is a character (your forum avatar, for instance, just sits next to your posts). So you 'choose an avatar' for a game, 'upload a profile picture' to LinkedIn, and 'design a character' for a role-playing game.

avatar ↗profile pictureicon ↗character ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • avatar image
  • avatar design
  • game avatar
  • anime avatar

Phrases

  • create an avatar
  • choose your avatar
  • customise an avatar
  • the ten avatars of Vishnu

Prepositions

  • avatar of
  • avatar in
  • as an avatar

Etymology

SanskritEnglish

The word came into English in the late 1700s from Sanskrit 'avatāra', built from 'ava-' meaning 'down' and a root meaning 'to cross over' — so the literal idea is 'a crossing down', that is, a god stepping down from heaven into a body on earth. For about two hundred years it stayed a religious term used in writing about Hinduism. From the 1980s, computer scientists working on early online worlds borrowed the word to name the on-screen figure that 'carries' a real person into a digital space. The 2009 film of the same name made this newer sense familiar worldwide.