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hero worship

hero worship

4 5.1
A very strong admiration for a famous person that ignores their faults
  • noun
  • /ˈhɪəroʊ ˈwɜːrʃɪp/
translation icon : adoración de héroes
  • One final thing, Randy, I suggest you stop it with the hero worship.
  • a case of hero worship
  • much hero worship

And you know, this kind of hero worship.

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Examples

  • Let's stop the hero worship of the "founders."

    Blog text (16)
  • Then surely it was never love but simply your need, your rather juvenile hero worship.

    Academic text (2011)
  • A sort of hero worship.

  • But it's just some kind of hero worship thing...

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A genuine case of hero worship if I ever saw it.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I love that there's no hero worship of certain blogebrities.

    Blog text (29)
  • What offends me is hero worship under the guise of claims of science and tech development.

    Blog text (1)
  • Less known is my father's hero worship of Lord Nelson, the embodiment of grace under pressure—and sexual scandal.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Such a choice between abject hero worship and dehumanizing agitprop shows once again, as it did 70 years ago, what happens when artists become courtiers and put themselves in the service of ideology.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Many fans exhibit hero worship towards their favorite musicians, often idolizing them without questioning their actions.

Synonyms

cult of personality
vshero worship
  • Literature
5 7.6

A situation where many people admire and support a leader without question

focuses on admiration for famous people rather than staged public portrayal
glorification
vshero worship
3 6.5

Giving great praise and honor to a person or thing

is intense uncritical reverence for famous or distinguished people
idolatry
vshero worship
3 7.6

Very strong admiration for someone or something, often too much

is intense admiration aimed especially at famous or distinguished people
fanboyism
vshero worship
  • Slang
1 8.6

Strong, blind support for a person, group, or product that ignores faults

is reverent admiration for a distinguished person rather than informal fandom
idolization
vshero worship
  • US
1 6.8

Strong admiration that makes someone seem perfect

is admiration focused mainly on famous or distinguished people with reverence
worship of man
vshero worship
9.5

Treating a person as if they were a god

is intense admiration for famous people instead of treating humans as divine

Antonyms

512 3.0

Disapproval that points out faults

65 6.5

A feeling of strong dislike and lack of respect

How Admiring

idolatry
3 7.6
hero worship
4 5.1
admiration
106 1.8
esteem
276 3.6
respect
1.0

Surface Forms

hero worship singular
hero worships plural

Morphology

hero + worship

The meaning 'intense or excessive admiration for someone' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'hero' (a celebrated or admired person) with 'worship' (intense reverential admiration); a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer this sense. The noun+noun composition follows common compounding patterns and has clear parallels in many languages, so the phrase is immediately comprehensible rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Hero worship comes from the image of people treating a hero like a god and giving worship, for example bowing or leaving flowers at a statue. So it means 'very strong admiration', often without seeing the person's faults.