1
as in to adore
to love or admire too much
people who hero-worship celebrities are setting themselves up for disappointment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to overpraise
to praise too much
a golfing pro who is hero-worshipped by hordes of weekend duffers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in worship
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
once the object of uncritical hero worship, the aging quarterback now faces the derision of his team's fickle fans
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hero-worship
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Verb
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Prone to hero worship early on, Drake hashed out his style in public, dabbling in rap while working on the Canadian teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
-
His face was printed on lunch boxes, cereal boxes and posters that hung on the bedroom walls of his adoring fans.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 June 2025
-
Referred to as Bubblegum Bobby and a fixture on the cover of teen magazines, lunch boxes, and other merch for adoring young fans, Sherman also continued to act during that period.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.—
Armond White,
National Review,
24 May 2023
-
He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Noun
-
Praise and worship will be at the shrine, along with food trucks and fireworks.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2025
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The festival will also host pre-show conversations about gospel’s influence on the Civil Rights Movement, and how the music served not only as a form of worship and spiritual connection, but also as a form of protest.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Mathers still likes to tune in and look back at his childhood.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
-
Brunnera does not like summer heat and may not do well south of Zone 8.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
29 June 2025
Verb
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The viral TikTok video has amassed over 1,000 comments already, as many social-media users praised the adorable bond that Peach and Bear have.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
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Sonko also praised China in his statement on Friday.—
Rebecca Tauber,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Noun
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After the mass, there will be food and performances from local choirs, and an outdoor eucharistic adoration.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
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The multimedia exposure drew the adoration of the era’s teenyboppers, who raced to spend their allowance money on T-shirts, lunch boxes and magazines featuring the face of Bubblegum Bobby, as he was known.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Both Bobrovsky and Tarasov are from Novokuznetsk, Russia, and Bobrovsky idolized Tarasov’s father, Vadim, growing up.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
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In the late fifties and early sixties the Method was the rage, especially among the young actors of about Willy’s age, who all idolized Marlon Brando and would go on to transform American cinema in a few years: Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and so on.—
Benjamin Hale
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Verb
-
Fellow actors congratulated the couple in the comments section.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
23 June 2025
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Vice President Vance, a veteran and frequent skeptic of foreign intervention, congratulated the troops and others involved in the strike on Sunday morning.—
Colin Meyn,
The Hill,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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