Skip to main content
to pedestal

to pedestal

6.8
To admire someone too much and treat them as perfect
  • verb
  • /ˈpɛdɪstəl/
  • Informal
translation icon : idealizar
  • To kind of like put somebody way up on a pedestal and then tear them down, way down, way, way lower than they than they deserved, you know?

Examples

  • So in some ways, once you're put up on a pedestal, that should be a big, tall red flag.

  • And by being like, oh, I love your feet, it's saying that I love the worst part about you, which kind of put someone on a pedestal or something.

  • I think our industry is incredibly good at putting yesterday on a pedestal and putting tomorrow on a pedestal and struggling to maximize today.

  • To kind of like put somebody way up on a pedestal and then tear them down, way down, way, way lower than they than they deserved, you know?

  • With some justification, the claim is made that contemporary women living in real time cannot look to the pedestaled Mary as a model.

    Academic text (2005)
  • I'm like, you do understand that your media, that you're putting on a pedestal, The New York Times and NBC, is the reason all this bad stuff was able to happen.

  • The curious result is that once-buried archaeological treasures are left pedestaled above the adjacent terrain.

    Academic text (1993)
  • It occurred to me that Nic Cage's lot in life, debt, struggle, and the lack of good choices on top of bad ones already made pedestaled him as the symbol of the 2012 election.

    Blog text (28)
  • Many fans tend to pedestal their favorite celebrities, often putting them on an unrealistic level of admiration.

  • It's easy to pedestal historical figures without considering their flaws and mistakes.

Synonyms

to hold up
vsto pedestal
89 3.7

To show someone as an example to praise or admire

focuses on treating someone as more important through admiration rather than as an example
held high
vsto pedestal
13 4.4

Raised up so people can see it and feel proud

expresses admiration by treating someone as very important rather than physical elevation
to put on a pedestal
vsto pedestal
  • Informal
10 6.0

Admire someone so much you think they are perfect

is similar but praises and overvalues someone excessively

Antonyms

45 5.0

To make someone or something seem not important

28 7.7

To speak badly about someone or something to show little respect

Phrasal Verbs

10 6.0

Admire someone so much you think they are perfect

Compounds

A table with one central leg instead of four legs

How Admiring

to worship
106 3.4
to pedestal
  • Informal
6.8
to idolize
  • US
42 4.9
to praise
331 1.0
to admire
743 1.6
respect
1.0

Surface Forms

pedestal infinitive
pedestaled past
pedestaled past participle
pedestaling present participle
pedestals third person singular

Etymology

Pedestal as a verb means to put someone on that 'foot' or base— to raise them up and show strong admiration, which is why to pedestal someone is to praise them or treat them as better than others.