1
as in to adore
to love or admire too much
people who hero-worship celebrities are setting themselves up for disappointment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to overpraise
to praise too much
a golfing pro who is hero-worshipped by hordes of weekend duffers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in worship
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
once the object of uncritical hero worship, the aging quarterback now faces the derision of his team's fickle fans
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hero-worship
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Verb
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Prone to hero worship early on, Drake hashed out his style in public, dabbling in rap while working on the Canadian teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
-
Referred to as Bubblegum Bobby and a fixture on the cover of teen magazines, lunch boxes, and other merch for adoring young fans, Sherman also continued to act during that period.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
24 June 2025
-
His face was printed on lunch boxes, cereal boxes and posters that hung on the bedroom walls of his adoring fans.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.—
Armond White,
National Review,
24 May 2023
-
He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Noun
-
This should be the subject of discussions in America’s classrooms, book clubs, houses of worship, legislative chambers, service clubs, podcasts, and social media feeds in 2026.—
Hans Zeiger,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 July 2025
-
King said the one caveat for houses of worship is that some spaces could be considered private, such as offices or classrooms, while the sanctuary or lobby could be considered public.—
Liam Adams,
The Tennessean,
4 July 2025
Verb
-
The designs were situated over three floors, where guests were allowed to select a Levi’s item and customize it to [their] liking with graphics, rhinestones, and other embellishments.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 June 2025
-
Do the accolades, likes, and shares compensate for the misallocation of our attention?—
Tim Maurer,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
When Powell delivered his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress earlier this month, he was praised by some lawmakers for refusing to delve into politics by avoiding any response to Trump’s attacks.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2025
-
In the days since the video was shared online, TikTok users have praised Row's husband for being so patient.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
After the mass, there will be food and performances from local choirs, and an outdoor eucharistic adoration.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
-
The multimedia exposure drew the adoration of the era’s teenyboppers, who raced to spend their allowance money on T-shirts, lunch boxes and magazines featuring the face of Bubblegum Bobby, as he was known.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
Both Bobrovsky and Tarasov are from Novokuznetsk, Russia, and Bobrovsky idolized Tarasov’s father, Vadim, growing up.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
-
In the late fifties and early sixties the Method was the rage, especially among the young actors of about Willy’s age, who all idolized Marlon Brando and would go on to transform American cinema in a few years: Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and so on.—
Benjamin Hale
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Verb
-
Among those congratulating Affleck on Instagram are her Mormon Wives co-stars, and fellow moms-to-be Mayci Neeley and Mikayla Matthews.—
Sari Hitchins,
Parents,
3 July 2025
-
Keynote speaker and commanding officer Marine Corps Col. Kwabena K. Gyimah shared his personal journey as a son of parents who immigrated from Ghana and congratulated the troops.—
David J. Bohnet,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share