hagiographic
1
9.9
- adjective
- /ˌheɪɡiəˈɡræfɪk/
- Formal
- But it would not be mistaken for an official history; Canada's Fighting Airmen (1930) was hagiographic in tone as it elevated twelve Canadian aces into knights of the sky.
Examples
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We have no Protestant saints, and hagiographic portrayals of the Puritans help nobody.
Blog text (16) -
Can we recognize that in being so emotionally vested in our particular choice, we are not unlike the hagiographic Obamacons?
Blog text (23) -
And in the States, the patience with the rule of Wall Street and the hagiographic praise of Chairman Ben is remarkable.
Blog text (27) -
Attention to women's hagiographic writings about other women offers an opportunity to break down this divide.
Academic text (2007) -
First, this drama is a hagiographic treatment of Chang Pogo.
Academic text (2016) -
On the level of representation, even within the confines of the hagiographic genre, authorial gender mattered.
Academic text (2007) -
Consciously or not, this hagiographic sketch depicts Juan Diego as a model Franciscan lay brother.
Academic text (2009) -
But when he sees Adrian laugh to the point of tears about his pain, Selenus comes close to a hagiographic commentary on Adrian's self-sacrifice.
Academic text (2000) -
As Lavrin has pointed out, the single most effective advocacy for native nuns was a small body of hagiographic literature that extolled the natural virtues of indigenous women.
Academic text (2011) -
The hagiographic portrayal of the athlete in the documentary made him seem like a flawless hero.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Describing someone as perfect and very good while ignoring their faults
Antonyms
How Laudatory
Surface Forms
Morphology
hagiographic = hagiography (transparent) = hagiography + ic
Formed by the regular adjectival suffix '-ic' on 'hagiography', meaning 'relating to' or 'characteristic of' hagiography; the derivation is regular.
Etymology
Hagiographic comes from the Greek parts hagio- meaning 'holy' and -graphy meaning 'writing', the same 'writing' you see in biography ('life writing'). So, a hagiographic account treats a person like a saint or only shows their good side, which is why it feels too perfect and not balanced.