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
Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 4 Oct. 2024
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
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
But rather than trying to find more meaning in the Joker’s madness, Folie à Deux brings the metaphorical house lights up to take a much more negatively critical look at its central anti-villain and the culture of hero worship.
—Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 4 Oct. 2024
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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Ronaldo and Zidane have become so adored based upon, say, that goal against Compostela or that Champions League winner against Bayer Leverkusen — and various compilations — that there’s actually no rational analysis about their careers.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
16 Aug. 2025
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Smith particularly adores the 90-minute Bottled-in-Bond Warehouse Tour and Tasting at Heaven Hill and the one-hour Rickhouse Barrel Thieving at Bardstown Bourbon Company.—
Karla Walsh,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 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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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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All were praised for easy-to-access anchors and ample legroom.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
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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Fein had long idolized the legendary producer and creator of the Wall of Sound.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
10 Aug. 2025
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Williams’ debut explores power, desire, and fear, following an assistant in her early twenties who is caught up in an affair with an older writer she’s long idolized.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 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 21 Aug. 2025.
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