lionizes

verb

present tense third-person singular of lionize
as in admires
to treat (someone) as a very important and famous person She was lionized everywhere after her novel won the Pulitzer Prize.

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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 lionizes Weberman’s early release would place him back into a community that not only protects, but lionizes him. — Guila Benchimol, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lionizes
  1. admires
  2. honors
  3. venerates
  4. reveres
  5. respects
  6. exalts
  7. praises
  8. dignifies
Verb
  • Art can use life without requiring the artist to remain permanently available to anyone who admires the finished work.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Anna, the film suggests, admires her husband warts and all, perhaps because there’s an enticing authenticity in all his inadequacies and brutish ways.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of admires
Verb
  • Peach honors the fruit closely associated with the state, and white represents the dogwood, Georgia's state flower.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The recognition honors Endaya’s more than five decades of pioneering work in feminist and socially engaged art.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of honors
Verb
  • Kin Coedel collaborated with Meti and Hijra women in Nepal in the creation of Between Reverence and Refusal, giving them recognition and exposing the paradox of a culture that venerates femininity in myth but doesn’t acknowledge those who embody it in everyday life.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 1 June 2026
  • Redemptive suffering Shared sorrow is a key part of Iran’s Twelver Shiite identity, which venerates the Prophet Muhammad’s family through daughter Fatima and cousin and son-in-law, Ali.
    — Mary Thurlkill, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of venerates
Verb
  • Among other things, Hinduism reveres femininity through the worship of powerful goddesses, including Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom; Kali, the goddess who destroys evil and ego; and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • While Western climbers regard Everest as a peak to be conquered, Tenzing reveres it as a sacred mother goddess.
    — Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of reveres
Verb
  • Companies can set sensible limits while still designing a process that respects the customer’s time and investment.
    — Christopher Kiggins, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Jeziorski encourages her buyers to purchase a home in a way that respects the communities that already live there, not just chase the next undervalues.
    — Emily Hochberg, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of respects
Verb
  • At a time when our right to protest is under siege, this sci-fi yarn exalts the way an individual’s conviction can plant seeds of change, leading to a stronger sense of community.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Boyes, too, exalts the elephants like a man possessed.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
Definition of exalts
Verb
  • Sandy praises her crew for performing efficiently under pressure, and gives out the $1,807 each of them earned from a $23,500 tip.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • While Tarlov was grateful for his advice, her book praises current Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott for creating a workplace culture that is much more hospitable to women.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of praises
Verb
  • The recognizing states will have to step up, too, by making their security guarantees concrete and by helping shape a Palestinian state that does not threaten its neighbors and dignifies its people by providing functioning institutions and proper services.
    — SHIRA EFRON, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
Definition of dignifies

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Cite this Entry

“Lionizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lionizes. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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