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Glite Dictionary
to look up to

to look up to

127 2.8
To respect and want to be like someone
  • phrasal verb
  • /lʊk ʌp tu/
: admirar
  • She has always looked up to her grandmother for her wisdom and kindness.
  • people you look up to
  • an older sister to look up to
  • other students to look up to

So who are the players that you guys look up to and what makes them good?

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Examples

Synonyms

to respect
vsto look up to
∞ 1.0

To admire someone for their actions or qualities

adds the idea of personal emulation and learning from that person
to admire
vsto look up to
621 1.6

To feel respect and pleasure when you look at someone or something

is respect mixed with guidance, seeing the person as an example
to look upon
vsto look up to
47 3.7

To think of someone or something in a certain way

is a specific form of regard that includes admiration and emulation
to idolize
vsto look up to
  • US
39 4.9

Admire someone very much, often ignoring their faults

is strong admiration but keeps a realistic view and role model sense
to put on a pedestal
vsto look up to
  • Informal
14 6.0

Admire someone so much you think they are perfect

is high regard without idealizing, focused on following their example
to think the world of
vsto look up to
  • Informal
11 5.1

To like and respect someone very much

is admiration that includes seeing the person as a role model
to esteem
vsto look up to
8 4.6

To have respect for someone because of what they do

is more personal and involves admiring them as a model to follow

Antonyms

to despise
159 4.9

To strongly dislike and have no respect for someone or something

to disrespect
116 3.5

To show a lack of respect for someone

How Admiring

to idolize
  • US
39 4.9
to revere
54 6.7
to look up to
127 2.8
to admire
621 1.6
to like
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

look up to infinitive
looked up to past
looked up to past participle
looking up to present participle
looks up to third person singular

Morphology

look + up + to

The meaning 'to admire and respect' is a metaphorical extension of the literal components: 'look' + 'up' + 'to' suggests viewing someone as 'higher' or above you, which motivates admiration but is not the literal act of looking. A B1 learner who knows the words might infer something like respect from the spatial metaphor, but the specific attitudinal sense is not fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Look up to comes from the image of someone looking up to a taller person, like a child looking up at an adult. That picture of looking up became a way to show 'admire' and 'respect', so today look up to means to admire someone as a role model.