as in worship
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
the mass idolization of the Renaissance artist continues to this day
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Recent Examples of idolization
The idolization of Steve Spurrier, dating a UF alum and understanding of Florida recruiting after a stint at FAU rang seemed to work in his favor.
—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
30 Nov. 2025
But even more clear to me this go-around was that Bella's idolization of Edward comes from a horrifyingly insecure place.
—
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Her idolization has made her Mexico’s unofficial national totem, perhaps second only to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
—
Mathew Sandoval,
The Conversation,
24 Oct. 2023
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
30 Nov. 2025
But even more clear to me this go-around was that Bella's idolization of Edward comes from a horrifyingly insecure place.
—
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Her idolization has made her Mexico’s unofficial national totem, perhaps second only to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
—
Mathew Sandoval,
The Conversation,
24 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idolization
Noun
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This is an agiary, a Zoroastrian place of worship for India’s Parsi community, where priests in white robes stoke a sacred flame around the clock and recite ancient Avestan prayers that have survived three millennia.
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For generations, churches have served not only as houses of worship, but as gathering places where questions of justice, voting rights and public leadership are debated.
Noun
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But adoration of Messi does not lessen his appreciation of Ronaldo.
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Wong says her journey has been rooted in a fundamental adoration for the pure impact of cuisine and the need to never forget the flavors that carved her family's path to their future.
Noun
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Sometimes it has been connected with Catholic nationalism; at other times it has been promoted as the opposite — as an antidote to the idolatry of the state.
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Hyper-racial idolatry may be too competitive a field on the internet to cut through.
Noun
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With wide sidewalks and a friendly park sandwiched in the middle, this is the city’s best stroll for window shopping, people watching, and sun worshiping.
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By the nail holes above and beside the worshiping altar, the household hung garlands.
Noun
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Each member derives her own realizations from this experience, with its dual crucibles of grindingly hard work and pop adulation.
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Hymns of praise and adulation are sung in honour of both men.
Noun
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After employees railed against Kirk’s deification by the right, his deifiers organized retribution against the employees and their employers.
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The deification and worship of Japanese war criminals responsible for some of the Japanese Empire’s worst crimes in Korea and China has long been a source of rancor in the region.
Cite this Entry
“Idolization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idolization. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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