mythologize

verb

my·​thol·​o·​gize mi-ˈthä-lə-ˌjīz How to pronounce mythologize (audio)
mythologized; mythologizing

transitive verb

1
obsolete : to explain the mythological significance of
2
: to build a myth around : mythicize

intransitive verb

1
: to relate, classify, and explain myths
2
: to create or perpetuate myths
mythologizer noun

Examples of mythologize in a Sentence

a politician who has been mythologized by his supporters
Recent Examples on the Web Kahlo makes for an absorbing narrative, but just as fascinating is the social and political context that produced her — including complex racial politics that mythologized Indigeneity while also subsuming it to a broader mestizo culture. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 Most venture capital firms mythologize the Zucks and Musks of the world. Tom Chavez, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Growing up in this very homogenized place, I was being fed stories on television and through music that were trying to mythologize the suburbs into something romantic and beautiful and strange and sometimes creepy. Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 27 Jan. 2024 The Hollywood western, of course, mythologized this country’s deserts and prairies as dramatic vistas against which such filmmakers as John Ford, Howard Hawks and Sam Peckinpah could foreground their rugged characters. Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2024 During the 19th and 20th centuries, Americans similarly mythologized events like the first Thanksgiving, the arrival of the Pilgrims and the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Dec. 2023 In the ’70s, musicians who belonged to the genre began mythologizing the cartels that were quickly gaining influence across Mexico, said Rafael Acosta Morales, a professor of Latin American literature and culture at the University of Kansas. María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 Still, these were sudden, cataclysmic events—sheets of flame, boiling rivers, melting buildings—and thus easily mythologized; their origins were occluded by fear, wonder, and the conviction that fire was God’s cleansing punishment. Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023 Cooper is, in many ways, one of the last icons of an art world that has been mythologized as smaller, smarter, more authentic and less concerned with profit. Zoë Lescaze, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French mythologiser, from mythologie mythology + -iser -ize

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mythologize was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near mythologize

Cite this Entry

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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