hagiographic

adjective

ˌha-gē-ə-ˈgra-fik How to pronounce hagiographic (audio)
variants also hagiographical
Definition of hagiographicnext
as in sickening
overly or insincerely flattering a hagiographic portrait of one of the pioneers of the automotive age

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 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
  1. sickening
  2. adulatory
  3. gushy
  4. oily
  5. oleaginous
  6. soapy
  7. unctuous
  8. demonstrative
Adjective
  • That’s why Law is a celebrity stylist; Law is known for curating sickening looks for his celebrity clients, but maybe sort of skimping out on himself, unfortunately.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 29 July 2026
  • There are also challenges for local businesses, which say customers are staying away because the stench is so sickening.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 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
  • There was something flylike about people with healthy, oily skin.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Greasy or oily rags can ignite in the dryer due to heat buildup and flammable residue.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 2 Aug. 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
  • Be careful to not use too much, or you’ll be left with a soapy mess.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 Aug. 2026
  • When you’re finished scrubbing, rinse the shutters with a garden hose again to get rid of any soapy residue.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of soapy
Adjective
  • Played with unctuous authority by the multilingual Danish performer Claes Bang, Kersten claims to have used his influence to obtain the freedom of thousands of concentration camp prisoners, and is obsessed with winning a Nobel Prize.
    — Alissa Simon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The uni—or sea urchin—come from Hokkaido and have an unctuous, egg yolk richness.
    — Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Midwest Living, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of unctuous
Adjective
  • Where Tarik Skubal is a roaring marvel, Casey Mize is rarely demonstrative on the mound.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 26 July 2026
  • Kelly, typically a non-demonstrative engineer, retreated to the airplane bathroom and sobbed.
    — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of demonstrative

Browse Nearby Words

hagiographers
hagiographic
hagiographies
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Cite this Entry

“Hagiographic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hagiographic. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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