heroicize

verb

Definition of heroicizenext
as in to glamour (up)

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heroicize
  1. heroize
  2. romanticize
  3. idealize
  4. glamorize
Verb
  • King Richard pushes aside the story of the Williams sisters to heroize their father’s determination to launch their talents.
    — Armond White, National Review, 11 Feb. 2022
Definition of heroize
Verb
  • The cyclospora outbreak isn’t the first time an illness has been romanticized as a way to achieve rapid weight loss.
    — Oona Hanson, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
  • The 29-year-old Christian Faith Madison died after walking into traffic, with her family arguing that the OpenAI chatbot had fueled her religious delusions during their extensive interactions, pushing her over the edge by romanticizing death.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 July 2026
Definition of romanticize
Verb
  • The report suggests that idealized portrayals of dating on social media may be affecting confidence and expectations, in some cases as much as or more than rejection itself.
    — Ethan M. Stone, USA Today, 20 July 2026
  • As these historical examples underscore, there is no idealized past to reclaim nor idealized future to arrive at through an inevitable march of progress.
    — Mark Brilliant, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
Definition of idealize
Verb
  • Beyond post-pandemic freedom, the recent rave explosion can also be credited to BRAT, Charli XCX’s 2024 album that glamorized raving as an It Girl activity.
    — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 15 July 2026
  • The film neither glamorizes nor indicts Solanas, who Taylor humanizes without softening or sentimentalizing her.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 10 June 2026
Definition of glamorize
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.

Browse Nearby Words

heroically
heroicize
heroicized
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heroicize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heroicize. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of mitigate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All