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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Bruins players receive their share of glory and hero worship.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 10 Nov. 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
This is the vibe that Edgar Wright is chasing with his version of The Running Man, which hews closely to the original text with a fidelity bordering on hero worship.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Bruins players receive their share of glory and hero worship.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
-
Before long, he is totally shunned from the scene that once adored him.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
-
Rose petals thrown into the air slightly obstructed the view of her adoring fans like a beautiful red snowstorm.—
Maxwell Adler,
Vanity Fair,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
And two-thirds say churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters.—
Yonat Shimron,
NPR,
15 May 2026
-
But the chapel, heavy with the scent of ecclesiastical incense, felt as genuine as could be, worn from nearly two centuries of worship.—
Paul Brady,
Travel + Leisure,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The Crusaders do not like to share.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
Group of beginners, hobbyists and professionals who like to take and share photos.—
Staff Report,
Baltimore Sun,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Passed in the final days of session and signed into law by Lamont earlier this week, the bill was praised as a massive victory for the state’s labor community and has been strongly embraced by unions and workers advocacy groups.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
This brings me back to the students who booed the real-estate developer praising AI.—
Hope Loudon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Yet she’s viewed, like everything else in the movie, with an adoration that is nearly transcendental.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
16 May 2026
-
There’s probably a smart, chilling film to be made about the terrors of smothering and relentless adoration — one imagines what Rod Serling would have done with something like this — but this isn’t really that film.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Still, Fonseca idolized Kuerten so much that the teen once tried a one-handed backhand.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
-
Many of us grew up idolizing astronauts as the best of the best that America — and other nations — have to offer.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
Blue Collar fans flooded the comments on the Instagram post, congratulating Serfer for building an institution that will forever be part of Miami’s culinary history.—
Amy Reyes,
Miami Herald,
16 May 2026
-
Gil’s excited parents Annah (Clémentine Célarie) and Alain (Christian Benedetti) arrive along with her friends Agnes (Mina Kavani) and Ibrahim (Oussama Kheddam) to congratulate her.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
