1
as in to adore
to love or admire too much
people who hero-worship celebrities are setting themselves up for disappointment
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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
Sarah Scott, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
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
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
The young girl's feelings of being left out and ostracized by her peers likely led her to the group—which experts say is a dangerous mix of hero worship and unhealthy messaging about how to cope with bullying.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 19 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
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Following the adventures of a quartet of sisters, the middle grade novels have been adored by young readers everywhere since Birdsall first debuted with The Penderwicks in 2005.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
People.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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The month ends with a radiant reminder: you’re allowed to be adored.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
30 July 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
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There are plenty of vacant houses of worship around the country, but there’s also a lot to consider before taking the leap (of faith).—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
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The Greenwood vandalism marks the third time a Hindu place of worship has been vandalized so far in the US in 2025, according to the Coalition of Hindus of North America.—
Ryan Murphy,
IndyStar,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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His mother was one of the most cultured people like ever in American social history.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
16 Aug. 2025
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But Reid, a former tight ends coach with the Packers, likes to employ multiple tight-end sets.—
Jeff Fedotin,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Carbon dioxide usually gets blamed for climate change, not praised for solving it.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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Megyn Kelly can’t seem to praise her beloved Sydney Sweeney without disrespecting Beyoncé in the same breath.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The siblings' love and adoration of their dad is plain to see, as is the positive impact the Ring doorbell had on them.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
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Each has done so to growing public interest and all that comes with it: adoration, criticism and faces on Panini stickers.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
Verb
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To keep the Mother-taur idolized and idle, Left says.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
31 July 2025
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Holliday grew up idolizing current St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado – who was a prolific slugger and gold glove third baseman in all eight of his years in Colorado before being dealt in 2021.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Verb
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Several celebrities, including Olivia Jade and Poppy Delevingne, congratulated the couple in Talita's Instagram comments section.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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The Prince of Wales then took to the field to congratulate the team, shaking hands with England player Michelle Agyemang and offering her warm congratulations.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
27 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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