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to hero-worship

to hero-worship

1 6.5
Admire someone so much that you think they are perfect
  • verb
  • /ˈhɪəroʊˌwɜːrʃɪp/
translation icon : idolatrar

Examples

  • I hero-worshiped him," said the witness, who is now married with five children and living in North Carolina.

    Blog text (12)
  • Come on down and let the kids hero-worship you, Gabe.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Because people hero-worshipped Jobs.

    Blog text (19)
  • They have also learned that hero-worship is a sign of weakness and a temptation to elitism.

    Academic text (1996)
  • "One of the things about conservatives that a lot of liberals just don't seem to understand about us is that we generally don't hero-worship the same way liberals do."

    Blog text (21)
  • If, for example, the Washington Post would expend more effort on investigative journalism than on reheated David Broder columns, maybe people wouldn't be hero-worshiping Wikileaks quite so much.

    Blog text (26)
  • Billy hero-worships his favorite superhero, believing he can do no wrong.

  • As a child, I hero-worshipped my teacher, admiring her wisdom and kindness.

  • Many fans hero-worship celebrities, often overlooking their flaws and mistakes.

Synonyms

to worship
vsto hero-worship
106 3.4

To admire someone very much, often without thinking about their faults

is stronger praising someone as flawless and beyond criticism
to idolize
vsto hero-worship
  • US
42 4.9

Admire someone very much, often ignoring their faults

emphasizes treating someone as perfect and beyond reproach
to revere
vsto hero-worship
21 6.7

To feel deep respect and admiration for someone, often with awe

is more extreme adding uncritical idolizing and treating them as flawless
to idealize
vsto hero-worship
14 5.8

To think someone or something is more perfect than they really are

puts stronger stress on excessive admiration and ignoring flaws
to put on a pedestal
vsto hero-worship
  • Informal
10 6.0

Admire someone so much you think they are perfect

is stronger showing unquestioning praise and treating them as faultless
to deify
vsto hero-worship
7 8.4

To treat someone like a god and admire them too much

is more about admiring without criticism and idealizing them
to fetishize
vsto hero-worship
5 8.8

To treat something as if it has special power or importance

applies this pattern to people making them seem perfect and unquestionable
to worship the ground someone walks on
vsto hero-worship
  • Informal
7.4

To admire someone too much and ignore their faults

does the same but treats someone as faultless and beyond reproach
to idolatrize
vsto hero-worship
  • US
9.9

To admire someone too much and ignore their faults

focuses more on uncritical admiration that makes them seem flawless
to apotheosize
vsto hero-worship
  • Literature
9.9

To make someone seem like a god or without faults

is about excessive uncritical admiration rather than formal glorification
to hang the moon and stars
vsto hero-worship
  • Informal
9.9

Admire someone so much that you think they are perfect

is more extreme making them seem faultless and beyond criticism

Antonyms

48 7.8

To say bad things about someone without a good reason to make them seem less important

28 7.7

To speak badly about someone or something to show little respect

How Admiring

to deify
7 8.4
to hero-worship
1 6.5
to idolize
  • US
42 4.9
to admire
743 1.6
to respect
1.0

Surface Forms

hero-worship infinitive
hero-worshipped past participle
hero-worshipping present participle
hero-worships third person singular

Morphology

hero-worship = hero-worship (semi-transparent) = hero + worship

The meaning is built directly from 'hero' + 'worship', but the sense is somewhat specialized and exaggerated rather than a fully literal act of worship.

Etymology

Hero-worship comes from the two words hero and worship, and 'worship' means 'deep respect' or 'praise' often used in religion. So to hero-worship someone is to admire them like a perfect hero or idol and to treat them as beyond criticism.