ADULATE Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

adulate

verb

Definition of adulate

as in to adore

to love or admire too much it's ridiculous how she adulates that airheaded rock star

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to congratulate

to praise too much a business executive who unwisely surrounds herself with incompetent assistants who spend all their time adulating her

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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 adulate Turkey’s TB2s became adulated in Ukraine for striking Russian tanks advancing on Kyiv at the start of that war in early 2022. — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulate

Verb

On the 1994 comeback album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins, Sparks imagined Liberace, who died in 1987, making his own comeback in the afterlife, adored again as a phantom haunting the Earth.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 31 July 2026
During his rally in Milford, northwest of Detroit, the crowd was adoring.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026

Definition of adore

Verb

Pezeshkian congratulated Khalil al-Hayya on his election as head of the group’s political bureau and told him Iran would continue supporting the Palestinian cause, according to a Hamas statement posted in Arabic, and reviewed by Fox News Digital.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
The text is a reference to the song’s lyrics, which see Bad Bunny congratulating and thanking his parents for giving birth to him.

— Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026

Definition of congratulate

Verb

People have been kidnapped while driving on interstate roads, while worshipping at church, and while sleeping in their homes.

— Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Luckily, there are plenty of sun and heat-worshipping flowers that can stand up to and thrive in August weather.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of worship

Verb

Their videos work as a modern take on the narcocorridos – ballads about the trafficking underworld that drug kingpins used to praise themselves and communicate with each other, said security expert Alexei Chévez.

— Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
The state Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday also praised samgyetang, a chicken soup stuffed with ginseng, glutinous rice and jujubes, reporting that Pyongyang restaurants were attracting customers seeking relief from the heat.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of praise

Verb

But the fact that this super team from LA added another not-so-secret weapon in its bid for a three-peat was not universally applauded by baseball fans.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2026
And in this economy, any fresh opportunity is cause for celebration, so take a moment to applaud yourself.

— Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of applaud

Verb

Stern and his team commended how Pastore acted in his final scene on the show.

— Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026
In all, the review from animal welfare consulting firm Team Shelter USA commends the department’s medical and surgical care, low euthanasia rates, foster program and enrichment facilities for animals at the Carlsbad shelter.

— Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of commend

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
As in the case of that picture, East of Eden is backed up by masterful screen storytelling that can hardly be overpraised and is complicated by no message that can be termed controversial.

— Jack Moffitt, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023

Definition of overpraise

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“Adulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulate. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of adulate

verb

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