hagiographist
- noun
- /ˌheɪɡiˈɒɡrəfɪst/
- Formal
:
hagiografista
- The hagiographist portrayed the saint as a flawless hero.
Examples
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His biography of the leader was so uncritical that many readers saw him as a hagiographist.
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Many hagiographists tend to embellish their subjects' achievements.
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As a renowned hagiographist, she often glossed over her subjects' failings.
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The historian accused the author of being a hagiographist rather than a serious researcher.
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The hagiographist depicted the philosopher's life in a way that made him appear almost divine.
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In his role as a hagiographist, he celebrated the politician's contributions while ignoring any scandals.
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Critics described her work as that of a hagiographist, praising the subject excessively without acknowledging flaws.
Synonyms
49
3.5
A person who writes about someone's life and achievements
1
9.9
A person who writes very positive life stories about saints or leaders
1
7.5
A person who describes real events in a more exciting or beautiful way
A person who writes life stories that praise saints
Antonyms
How Laudatory
- Formal
49
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
hagiographist = hagiography (semi-transparent) = hagiography + ist
The formation is a regular agentive suffixation (hagiography + -ist), but the base 'hagiography' is a specialized/rare word and the Greek combining elements may be unfamiliar to average learners.
Etymology
The word hagiographist comes from two Greek parts, hagio- meaning 'holy' and -graph meaning 'writing', the same 'graph' you see in photograph and autograph. So a hagiographist is a writer of saint-like, praise-filled life stories, which is why the word now means someone who writes overly positive biographies.