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
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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
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Thousands of troops from multiple branches of the military rehearsed for weeks under the adoring eyes and feverish applause from the local people.—
Nga Pham,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2025
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Now, McTominay is in a team built around him and in a city that adores him.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 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
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He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Noun
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Dozens of hospitals, clinics shuttered In less than four years, Haiti has seen the destruction and closure of dozens of hospitals and medical clinics as armed groups take over entire towns and set up encampments in places of worship, private homes and buildings that once saved lived.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
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More and more, Sister was a being that was beyond human, a figure of reverence and worship who possessed supernatural powers.—
Claire Hoffman,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Wylie, by all accounts, was well liked within the program and beloved by many players who viewed him as critical to their development.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
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Things were looking up later in the day after a report said the measure of inflation that the Fed likes to use slowed to 2.3% in March, the Associated Press reported.—
Alain Sherter,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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During his papacy, he was both praised and criticized for commenting on political issues, from immigration to LGBTQ issues.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Trump praised the pope at the start of Francis's papacy, in 2013, several years before Trump reached the White House.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Cruise went public with his adoration of the hit movie Sunday.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
30 Apr. 2025
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Scoring five in his last three starts, McTominay is on the crest of a light blue Neopolitan wave, drinking in the fans’ adoration with every strike.—
Henry Flynn,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In Ellis’ novel, Patrick Bateman also idolizes Donald Trump, who is currently serving his second term as the U.S. president.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
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Avery, who grew up idolizing Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, hopes his story can remind others to keep pushing through hard times in order to achieve their dreams.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That ethical dodge — congratulating modern progress, ignoring this era’s nervous breakdown — is the basic, political, insensitive reason that contemporary Hollywood cannot create love stories.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 Apr. 2025
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Celebrities and fellow golfers congratulated him after his big win.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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