lionizing

verb

present participle of lionize
as in honoring
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 lionizing That brings us back to the folly of lionizing Kent as a conscientious objector to Trump and the president’s hawkish foreign policy as of late. — David M. Drucker, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026 Los Angeles educators were also directed to immediately shift from lionizing Chávez to honoring instead the farmworkers’ movement. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026 Gelles avoids lionizing Patagonia’s leader, describing Chouinard’s mercurial leadership style that often bewildered his staff at Patagonia. — Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lionizing
  1. honoring
  2. admiring
  3. praising
  4. revering
  5. venerating
  6. respecting
  7. worshipping
  8. exalting
Verb
  • The distinction is traditionally bestowed upon longtime faculty and staff, with CSUF officials honoring the campus careers that were cut short but remain woven into the institution’s history.
    — Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 14 July 2026
  • In this film by Mira Nair, based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture after moving from Calcutta to New York.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 14 July 2026
Definition of honoring
Verb
  • Spend an hour admiring the neighborhood's Art Deco and Miami Modern architecture, then make an evening of hopping between some of the Beach's landmark hotels.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 July 2026
  • Director Nick Taylor spent years admiring the work of special effects artist Steve Johnson in a way that went beyond basic curiosity.
    — William Earl, Variety, 14 July 2026
Definition of admiring
Verb
  • The social media buzz escalated, with hundreds of accounts weighing in on the issue, many of which lambasted Sullivan and USA Fencing while praising Turner.
    — Elijah Polance, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
  • Magazine, praising Swift's ability to handle intense public scrutiny.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
Definition of praising
Verb
  • Our history is complex but acknowledging its complexity shouldn't be considered inconsistent with loving our country and revering its founders.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • What these men accomplished is worth remembering and revering even as their number dwindles.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 27 May 2026
Definition of revering
Verb
  • Jellicle Ball joins that lineage, inviting its audience to experience the joys of the Black and Latino ball scene while venerating its bittersweet roots.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Exquisite dribblers such as Olise need protecting and venerating.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Definition of venerating
Verb
  • Kane, too, is encouraged by the number of artists who are respecting the craft of lyricism.
    — Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 14 July 2026
  • Faivre’s utmost goal was changing the villa’s large, austere spaces into welcoming living areas—all while still respecting the building’s original, Brutalist vision.
    — Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 14 July 2026
Definition of respecting
Verb
  • Inside, inscriptions bearing Paser's name depict him worshipping various deities inside shrines, as well as seated with his wife before an offering table.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 12 July 2026
  • In the entry, a ditsy print (Schumacher’s Margie Floral in Porcelain) climbs up the walls and carries the blue-and-white combo upstairs, where the primary suite embraces those same sky-worshipping shades—a tip of the hat to the scenery outside.
    — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 5 June 2026
Definition of worshipping
Verb
  • The story goes that Balanchine was so struck by the multi-colored glow of the jewelry displays at the Van Cleef & Arpels New York showroom that this led him to create a dance exalting their beauty.
    — Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
  • As Alvarado explores repeatedly, Valdez rejected that pathway, instead honing his indigenous roots, and dedicating his life to exalting those who, like him, exist in the in-between.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of exalting

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lionizes
lionizing
lions
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Cite this Entry

“Lionizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lionizing. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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