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idol worshiper

idol worshiper

7.5
A person who prays to a statue or object as if it were a god
  • noun
  • /ˈaɪdəl ˈwɜrʃɪpər/
  • US
translation icon : idolatra
  • Idol worshipper.

Examples

  • It is a well-known fact that this woman is a witch and an idol worshipper.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Idol worshiper!

  • "Your idol-worshipper is also a woman of loose morals.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Among idol worshippers, he refuses to bow down to any other God.

  • - An idol-worshipper!

  • For idol-worshippers!

  • She was a child of Christ for 12 years until she decided to drop everything here and settle down with an idol worshiper in India.

    Blog text (21)
  • As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah... ...so shall He send hosts to destroy the idol-worshipers.

  • The community was divided, with many being idol worshippers who devoted their lives to their ancient traditions.

  • As an idol worshiper, she dedicated her prayers to the sculptures in the temple every morning.

Synonyms

idolater
vsidol worshiper
4 9.7

A person who worships images or statues as gods

refers to revering objects as sacred and deserving devotion
idolatress
vsidol worshiper
9.9

A woman who worships a statue or object as a god

specifies a female practitioner rather than a neutral term
idolizer
vsidol worshiper
  • US
7.4

A person who likes someone too much and ignores their faults

focuses on revering objects as religious devotion not general admiration

Antonyms

14 5.2

A person who does not believe in God or in any religion

iconoclast
  • Formal
6 9.6

A person who strongly criticizes common beliefs or institutions

How Devoted

fanatic
8 4.3
idolater
4 9.7
idol worshiper
  • US
7.5
worshiper
  • US
19 3.2
devotee
25 6.0
follower
295 1.6
admirer
113 2.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

idol + worshiper

The meaning 'a person who worships idols' is directly and compositionally derived from 'idol' (a venerated image or statue) + 'worshiper' (a person showing reverence). This regular agentive noun formation follows standard English morphology and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Idol worshiper comes from people who bowed to a carved idol, a statue or image, and gave it gifts or prayers, so the person was a worshiper of that object. That's why 'idol worshiper' means someone who worships a statue or picture.