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
Thomas Smith, Billboard, 6 May 2025
There’s a kitschy, romantic, hero-worshipping nostalgia to the image, as if Norman Rockwell had undergone a lobotomy.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025
Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
The young girl's feelings of being left out and ostracized by her peers likely led her to the group—which experts say is a dangerous mix of hero worship and unhealthy messaging about how to cope with bullying.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Verb
In an accompanying statement, Yungblud said that the record explores the theme of hero-worship.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 6 May 2025
There’s a kitschy, romantic, hero-worshipping nostalgia to the image, as if Norman Rockwell had undergone a lobotomy.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025
Noun
Despite having access to OpenAI's co-founder and CEO, Hagey delivers a balanced portrait that avoids hero worship while revealing the strategic thinking behind ChatGPT's development.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
The young girl's feelings of being left out and ostracized by her peers likely led her to the group—which experts say is a dangerous mix of hero worship and unhealthy messaging about how to cope with bullying.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
-
One of Indiana's peskiest invasive plants, oriental bittersweet, was bought, sold and adored for almost 100 years in the United States before horticulturists started to raise concerns about the species.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Clara adores them, and rightly so.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The result is sometimes overpraising, overprotection, and overindulging children, mixing emotional intensity with economic privilege in ways that breed entitlement.—
Christine Michel Carter,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is making a map of public light displays at homes, houses of worship, schools and businesses.—
Eva Wen,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Charles isn't the only royal to frequent St Mary Magdalene for worship.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
There’s a lot to like about the way the Sabres have played, though.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Choi likes to precut carrots, celery, onions and fennel.—
Malaka Gharib,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Zhao praised Kore-eda’s films for their focus on mundane details – laundry, cooking, daily routines – that create a meditative rhythm before emotional tsunamis arrive.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The country singer had posted a photo on Instagram of the polarizing conservative activist with himself and wife Brittany, and praised Kirk in the caption.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Soon, the teens’ adoration for each other is at risk of becoming a nightmare.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Candyman, the Candyman franchise (1992–1999; 2021) Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) finds out that adoration and horror don't mix when she is faced with the attachment of the sinister Candyman (Tony Todd) in the 1992 film classic.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Smith grew up idolizing him as a boy in Louisville.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
The action then jumps seventeen years into the future, where Morgan and Chris’s daughter, Clara (Mckenna Grace), is now a teen-ager who resents her mom’s protectiveness and idolizes her freewheeling aunt.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The president even congratulated him following the June 3 opening of his restaurant The Detroit Cowboy in Nashville.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Sharik and Jessica Burgess-Stride of Rotorua were finishing their wedding paperwork when actor Elijah Wood walked down the aisle to congratulate them.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share