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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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
Thomas Smith, Billboard, 6 May 2025
There’s a kitschy, romantic, hero-worshipping nostalgia to the image, as if Norman Rockwell had undergone a lobotomy.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025
Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Apatow’s descriptions of these early interviews are laced with self-deprecation and hero worship.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Verb
In an accompanying statement, Yungblud said that the record explores the theme of hero-worship.
—Thomas Smith, Billboard, 6 May 2025
There’s a kitschy, romantic, hero-worshipping nostalgia to the image, as if Norman Rockwell had undergone a lobotomy.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025
Noun
The state media and government representatives push militarism and self-sacrifice; school curricula endlessly celebrate Russian war victories; theaters obediently stage works of communist-era patriotic authors; and cities display army recruitment banners and hero worship posters.
—Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Apatow’s descriptions of these early interviews are laced with self-deprecation and hero worship.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
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Salvias are adored for their abundant blooms which attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to the garden.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
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Hollywood creates silver screen narratives adored by the world, but its institution for visual art was getting lapped by smaller cities.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The result is sometimes overpraising, overprotection, and overindulging children, mixing emotional intensity with economic privilege in ways that breed entitlement.—
Christine Michel Carter,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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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
Noun
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The revolutionary pharoah builds a great city and reduces spiritual chaos by focusing on a single-minded form of worship.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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No more climate-change worship.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Montana Republican unexpectedly dropped his reelection bid on Wednesday night — a surprise, though Daines didn’t love all the travel and likes to spend time with his family.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
5 Mar. 2026
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Some people like to vote on election day, said Dianne Clinkscale from Dallas, arguing that the county’s voters got cheated out their right on to vote.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, praised Jackson as a peacemaker and humanitarian.—
Matt Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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Owner António Silva, 66, has been running his no-frills charcoal-grill shop for four decades, but his newfound fame started after he was praised online by a Chinese influencer.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Bad Bunny’s adoration for Chile is hardly new.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
4 Mar. 2026
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And yet the 1934 World Cup in Italy was turned into a spectacle of adoration for the Fascist dictator Mussolini.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then a Chicago Tribune reporter, Reynolds had idolized Jackson.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
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Rafaela, who began his professional career as a middle infielder in the Red Sox minor leagues, idolized him.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Queen Victoria used the wire to congratulate President James Buchanan on the accomplishment, widely considered an engineering marvel at the time.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
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Sun brought with her a reply letter from Xi Jinping congratulating the Greek scholars on the center’s opening.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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