he·ro-wor·ship
ˈhir-(ˌ)ō-ˌwər-ship 
hero-worshipped also hero-worshiped; hero-worshipping also hero-worshiping; hero-worships
: to feel or express hero worship for
hero-worshipper
noun
1
: veneration of a hero
2
: foolish or excessive adulation for an individual
Synonyms
Examples of hero-worship in a Sentence
Noun
He objects to the unthinking hero worship of great athletes by their fans.
once the object of uncritical hero worship, the aging quarterback now faces the derision of his team's fickle fans
Recent Examples on the Web
Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2021
Jennifer’s Body is, at its heart, a film about a deeply toxic female friendship — the kind in which one girl with a weird hero worship consigns herself to being the quirky sidekick to the other’s main character.
—Vulture, 31 Mar. 2023
The whole book feels like a teeter-totter between the author’s own hero worship of the subject and his gawking at the tragedy.
—Jason Diamond, Bon Appétit, 9 Nov. 2022
In particular, says Kling, the crypto industry remains vulnerable to hero worship—a tendency to venerate the individuals that accrue the most money and command the greatest influence in the sector: like Mashinsky, Bankman-Fried, Do Kwon of Terra Luna, and Kyle Davies and Su Zhu of Three Arrows.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 14 July 2023
Instead, what allowed things to spiral at Northwestern until a whistleblower finally came forward last year, was a default setting of hero worship around Fitzgerald and the fear of being ostracized if anyone dared to challenge what had become accepted as part of the program's culture.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 11 July 2023
Fans of Bourdain-style travel and food writing — pop culture asides, sarcasm, jaded irony, a little bit of hero worship — might be disappointed.
—Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2023
Awards Bill Hader and Henry Winkler root ‘Barry’ in friendship, collaboration and some hero worship May 16, 2019 Winkler has been open about his mental health throughout his career.
—Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2023
There was a cultish aspect to the hero worship.
—Dan Koeppel, Outside Online, 5 Sep. 2019
See More
Noun
Unwarranted hero worship of the armed forces nurtures civilian deference to the military and threatens civilian oversight.
—Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2021
Jennifer’s Body is, at its heart, a film about a deeply toxic female friendship — the kind in which one girl with a weird hero worship consigns herself to being the quirky sidekick to the other’s main character.
—Vulture, 31 Mar. 2023
The whole book feels like a teeter-totter between the author’s own hero worship of the subject and his gawking at the tragedy.
—Jason Diamond, Bon Appétit, 9 Nov. 2022
In particular, says Kling, the crypto industry remains vulnerable to hero worship—a tendency to venerate the individuals that accrue the most money and command the greatest influence in the sector: like Mashinsky, Bankman-Fried, Do Kwon of Terra Luna, and Kyle Davies and Su Zhu of Three Arrows.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 14 July 2023
Instead, what allowed things to spiral at Northwestern until a whistleblower finally came forward last year, was a default setting of hero worship around Fitzgerald and the fear of being ostracized if anyone dared to challenge what had become accepted as part of the program's culture.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 11 July 2023
Fans of Bourdain-style travel and food writing — pop culture asides, sarcasm, jaded irony, a little bit of hero worship — might be disappointed.
—Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2023
Awards Bill Hader and Henry Winkler root ‘Barry’ in friendship, collaboration and some hero worship May 16, 2019 Winkler has been open about his mental health throughout his career.
—Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2023
There was a cultish aspect to the hero worship.
—Dan Koeppel, Outside Online, 5 Sep. 2019
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hero-worship.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near hero-worship
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hero-worship. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
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