deification

noun

de·​i·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌdē-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce deification (audio)
ˌdā-
: the act or an instance of deifying

Examples of deification in a Sentence

the instant deification by the press of the country's newest war hero
Recent Examples on the Web Maybe columnist Bill Plaschke and others can now stop the deification of Caleb Williams. Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2023 Whether a dead emperor was made a god depended not so much on his worthiness as on how useful his deification was to the man who came after him. Mary Beard, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023 The deification of emperors was fairly standard practice at the time, and the spoof claimed to lift the lid on what really happened during the process. Mary Beard, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023 Bookstores still held their ground here among the shopfronts, and the deification of French writers living and dead was evinced everywhere in street names and statues and advertising hoardings for new novels. Rachel Cusk, New York Times, 2 May 2023 Our work points to a biological explanation for the deification of the species. Nathaniel J. Dominy, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2021 There’s a deification of this absence. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2023 So there's a whole issue here around public understanding of both science and politics, about the management of public expectations, about how rapid the flow from hero to zero can be—the vast deification of politicians post-election or in times of crisis. Matt Simon, Wired, 1 June 2020 After a young linebacker named Todd Hodne was arrested for rape in 1978, head coach Joe Paterno kicked him off the team; yet, Hodne would go on to strike again and again, enabled in part by the culture of deification that surrounded the Nittany Lions. Longreads, 6 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deification.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of deification was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near deification

Cite this Entry

“Deification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deification. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on deification

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!