HAGIOGRAPHIC Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

hagiographic

adjective

ˌha-gē-ə-ˈgra-fik

variants also hagiographical

Definition of hagiographic

as in sickening

overly or insincerely flattering a hagiographic portrait of one of the pioneers of the automotive age

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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 hagiographic What historians and theologians know about Francis comes primarily from his own writings and hagiographic texts. — Vanessa Corcoran, The Conversation, 2 Feb. 2026 Of course, a person making a hagiographic documentary about the production of the show for Netflix probably isn’t the world’s most neutral source. — Sharon Adarlo, Futurism, 14 Jan. 2026 In a way, then, a documentary like Angus Wall’s Being Eddie, a generally amiable and adulatory 90 minutes streaming on Netflix, fails; with its softly hagiographic approach, the director never pushes Eddie Murphy to any place that feels untapped or confrontational, and therefore newsworthy. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025 Part of what makes Davies’s article so interesting is that is a refreshingly contrarian departure from the usual hagiographic treatment of Elon Musk, the precocious info-age Young Turk supposedly running rings around the sclerotic rust-belt competition. — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016 See All Example Sentences for hagiographic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hagiographic

Adjective

But there are multiple Ebola strains, and those vaccines, treatments, and tests aren’t effective against the rarer strain, Bundibugyo, sickening people today.

— Alice Park, Time, 2 July 2026
Toxic fumes are leaking into airplanes and sickening passengers and crew members at an alarming rate, according to a September 2025 report by The Wall Street Journal.

— Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026

Definition of sickening

Adjective

Besides being a record of events, the work is a crafty portrayal of kingship, presenting Akbar in an adulatory tone, as an exemplary and divinely favored ruler.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
Reggie’s solution is to hire Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), an Oscar-winning documentarian, to make an adulatory film about him, changing public perception and opening new doors.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026

Definition of adulatory

Adjective

Except for the unfettered devotion in the latter is replaced by swooping strings and a gushy chorus that merely offer an antiseptic veneer.

— Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 18 June 2026
The announcement may come as a shock for country fans who have followed the couple through their sappy podcast appearances and gushy acceptance speeches.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026

Definition of gushy

Adjective

Seborrheic dermatitis causes dandruff and causes the skin to be oily, scaly, and red; an abundance of fungi can also lead to dandruff.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
Some scrubs feel really harsh, some are sticky, and some even leave an oily residue on the skin—but this one doesn’t do any of that.

— Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 4 July 2026

Definition of oily

Adjective

One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.

— David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
Ted Cruz, the perennial front-runner, is smug and oleaginous—hated equally by his colleagues and the public.

— Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 26 Sep. 2022

Definition of oleaginous

Adjective

Using too much detergent leaves soapy residue in fabrics, trapping dirt, bacteria, and hard water minerals, which leaves clothes looking dull, feeling stiff and scratchy, and smelling bad.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 July 2026
Wipe out any obvious crumbs with a dry rag, then return with a soapy microfiber cloth.

— Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 4 July 2026

Definition of soapy

Adjective

The unctuous and sweet char siu pork jowl is interspersed with green apple pressed with lime and ginger for a bright and crisp counter to the fatty pig.

— Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026
Made with the unctuous 8-percent-fat milk of the water buffalo—animals that may have arrived in the area via the Normans by way of Sicily, or perhaps by the Goths coming from Central Asia—buffalo mozzarella has been produced at least since the twelfth century.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026

Definition of unctuous

Adjective

And Fisher also noted that his father was a demonstrative fan of the Blue Jays ever since the team enjoyed his debut last year.

— Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Finns may not be known for demonstrative cheerfulness, nor necessarily for being makers of excessively happy music.

— Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026

Definition of demonstrative

Browse Nearby Words

hagiographers

hagiographic

hagiographies

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“Hagiographic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hagiographic. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of hagiographic

adjective

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