as in to adore
to love or admire too much
she blindly idolized her older sister, refusing to acknowledge any of her faults
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Recent Examples of idolize
McGonigle grew up idolizing Phillies legend Chase Utley, who is going into the club's Wall of Fame in August.
—
Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
Bonzagni, who grew up a Rangers fan and idolized outfielders David Murphy, Craig Gentry and Josh Hamilton, didn’t make Carroll’s varsity team in any of his first three high school seasons.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
At Junya Watanabe, models walked with a sense of performance rarely seen today except in old videos of couture shows from the 1990s, wearing gowns assembled of athletic equipment and tacky leopard and faux fur fabrics of the kind idolized by Limited Too shoppers.
—Rachel Tashjian, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
As with so many of his generation, Adebayo, 28, grew up idolizing the late Bryant.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idolize
Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
Bonzagni, who grew up a Rangers fan and idolized outfielders David Murphy, Craig Gentry and Josh Hamilton, didn’t make Carroll’s varsity team in any of his first three high school seasons.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 20 Mar. 2026
At Junya Watanabe, models walked with a sense of performance rarely seen today except in old videos of couture shows from the 1990s, wearing gowns assembled of athletic equipment and tacky leopard and faux fur fabrics of the kind idolized by Limited Too shoppers.
—Rachel Tashjian, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
As with so many of his generation, Adebayo, 28, grew up idolizing the late Bryant.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for idolize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idolize
Verb
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He was so adored, in fact, that Levinson kept him on after his character was originally meant to die at the end of season 1.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
12 Apr. 2026
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But Reef is also five years sober from a destructive heroin addiction that the adoring public thankfully is unaware of.—
Josh Spiegel,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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There’s even a Sikh gurdwara on-site for the staff and anyone else who wants to visit or worship.—
David Williams,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
13 Apr. 2026
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One raunchy session from 1975 with a lover named Mike Karton begins with Peter worshipping Karton’s jockstrap in his Second Avenue loft.—
Andrew Durbin,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Even if the taxes were suspended, their reinstatement could hit drivers at a bad time, and no one likes to see taxes go up again, Hoffer said.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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It was coined by friends&, a Canadian blogger-musician who really likes coining things, and whose label, dawk26, doubles as a conceptual testing ground.—
Samuel Hyland,
Pitchfork,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idolize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idolize. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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