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hagiographer

hagiographer

1 9.9
A person who writes very positive life stories about saints or leaders
  • noun
  • /ˌheɪɡiˈɒɡrəfər/
  • Formal
translation icon : hagiografo
  • In her book, the hagiographer highlights the miraculous events surrounding the saint's life.
  • female hagiographers
  • medieval hagiographers

Examples

  • The hagiographer portrayed the saint as a model of virtue and piety.

  • The hagiographer even stated that "the Christian children were the godfathers" of the newly baptized.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Do these female hagiographers share common concerns?

    Academic text (2007)
  • The hagiographer describes in great detail Theodoric's direction of the school in Lobbes.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Establishing a norm of marital relationships was less important to the hagiographer, and thus to his or her audience, than establishing their noble characters.

    Academic text (2007)
  • How similar are their interests and authorial strategies to those of contemporary male hagiographers?

    Academic text (2007)
  • But their hagiographers did not focus on physical pain and suffering as a redemptive element in their subjects' lives.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The hagiographer of Theodoric also mentioned the rejection of the bull by unnamed opponents.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Identifying the gendered goals of these hagiographers also permits us a new perspective on their subjects' real lives.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The female hagiographers considered here had their own specific and individual motivations for writing, which stemmed primarily from institutional relationships.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

biographer
vshagiographer
49 3.5

A person who writes about someone's life and achievements

tends to praise and idealize subjects rather than remain neutral
romancer
vshagiographer
1 7.5

A person who describes real events in a more exciting or beautiful way

is about praising lives of revered people rather than general romanticizing
hagiographist
vshagiographer
  • Formal
9.9

A person who writes life stories that make someone seem too perfect

is idealizing but less focused on exaggerated praise
hagiologist
vshagiographer
  • Specialized
9.9

A person who writes life stories that praise saints

is mainly a writer of idealizing lives rather than a scholar

Antonyms

563 3.0

A person who often finds fault and speaks harshly about others

How Laudatory

hagiographer
  • Formal
1 9.9
biographer
49 3.5

Surface Forms

hagiographer singular
hagiographers plural

Morphology

hagiographer = hagiography (opaque) = hagio + graph + er

Adding the agentive suffix '-er' to 'hagiography' is a regular English derivational step meaning a person associated with that activity or field.

Etymology

Hagiographer comes from old Greek parts hagio- meaning 'holy' and -grapher meaning 'writer', so it literally means a 'writer of saints'. That's why today a hagiographer is someone who writes a life story that praises its subject a lot, often making them seem like a saint.