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
  • The backstory Once upon a time, there was a Spanish family blessed with a talent for finding historic buildings and transforming them into hotels that anyone who admires beauty and nature would want to visit.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Iraola admires his playing style but whether that translates into more game time — which Nyoni now needs — remains to be seen.
    — Gregg Evans, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of admires
Verb
  • The anniversary marks India’s National Fire Service Day, which honors the firefighters who lost their lives fighting the blaze that day.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Any empty feeling at Empty Sky Caution tape clings to a fence outside the memorial, which honors the 749 New Jersey residents killed on 9/11.
    — Adi Guajardo, CBS News, 19 Aug. 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
  • Harbaugh reveres the Giants and their ownership and their brand for their tradition and their landmark status in the NFL, dating back to their founding in 1925.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026
  • The South reveres hydrangeas for their long-lasting blooms.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
Definition of reveres
Verb
  • Please use your platform to advise her to drop this user and move on to a guy who respects and values her as a person, not just a convenience.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Mutual care becomes easier when the agreement respects your security too.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 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
  • Nashville praises the family, but how exactly that baby gets there…well, you’re not supposed to talk about that.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Guest judge Willy Chavarria praises how Jeffrey’s outfit moved (my favorite thing about it), but the strength of Naheim’s tromp l’oeil effect snags him the win, immunity for the next challenge, and $20,000 from Viva.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Aug. 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 26 Aug. 2026.

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