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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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
Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
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
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
Despite having access to OpenAI's co-founder and CEO, Hagey delivers a balanced portrait that avoids hero worship while revealing the strategic thinking behind ChatGPT's development.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
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One of Indiana's peskiest invasive plants, oriental bittersweet, was bought, sold and adored for almost 100 years in the United States before horticulturists started to raise concerns about the species.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
22 Oct. 2025
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Clara adores them, and rightly so.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
22 Oct. 2025
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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Rodriguez was arrested and taken to the Johnson County Jail, according to the post, and faces charges of arson of a place of worship, burglary of a building, theft of property and collision involving damage.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Oct. 2025
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California removed rezoning requirements to allow houses of worship and nonprofits to build affordable housing unrestricted.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There’s a lot to like about the way the Sabres have played, though.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Choi likes to precut carrots, celery, onions and fennel.—
Malaka Gharib,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Awards pundits predict that both White and Strong will be Oscar contenders for their performances, which have been praised by critics on the film festival circuit.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
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Speaking to Variety at the Academy Museum Gala over the weekend, the actor praised his experience shooting the new episodes.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But it’s layered with a thick and sugary frosting of adoration.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
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Grande has been vocal in her adoration of Heap since the beginning of the Victorious alum’s career.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The action then jumps seventeen years into the future, where Morgan and Chris’s daughter, Clara (Mckenna Grace), is now a teen-ager who resents her mom’s protectiveness and idolizes her freewheeling aunt.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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Other pastors are cautioning against politicizing his death and warning against idolizing him over the gospel.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Markle publicly congratulated the couple and liked Swift’s Instagram announcement of her engagement to Kelce.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
26 Oct. 2025
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Deputy prime minister Simon Harris also congratulated Connolly for her victory which is expected to be formally announced later on Saturday.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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