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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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
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
Verb
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Through a blend of archival recordings and contemporary interviews, the series illustrates how the church became a sanctuary for its community, honoring both their faith and queerness while fostering joy and connection during a time of profound grief.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
7 Apr. 2026
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This spring, the Postal Service is honoring history by issuing stamps that celebrate those who helped forge this nation.—
Readers Speak,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Outside of simply admiring this natural setting and taking as many pictures as possible, there are other fun ways to enjoy the park, like hiking the dunes or renting sand sleds and sand boards on-site.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Apr. 2026
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Look at this man trying to find points of connection while also admiring her work and lifting it above his.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In some cases, parents may even unintentionally reinforce the behavior by praising physical changes without understanding how they were achieved.—
Grace Baek,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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The rapper previously shared rhetoric widely deemed as antisemitic on social media, used a 2025 Super Bowl ad to redirect viewers to a website selling a $20 swastika T-shirt, and dropped a song praising Adolf Hitler.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His whole combo — coddling yet revering — makes clear how this hopeless estate chugged along for so long.—
Theater Critic,
San Francisco Chronicle,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Chu sits at the center of Hollywood, and grew up in Silicon Valley revering engineers.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
14 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Exquisite dribblers such as Olise need protecting and venerating.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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And, online, there has been a never-ending stream of posts venerating Kirk as a martyr who died defending white Christian values.—
Ryan Broderick,
Rolling Stone,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And so there was a ripple effect from me not addressing that grief and trauma; from not respecting it, and running from it, and hiding it, and masking it with alcohol.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
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In the memo to Snelling, White wrote that someone — evidently a school administrator whose name was withheld — had spoken to Pujoe about respecting boundaries with female students four or five times and specifically about his history of driving students in his personal car, White wrote.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The new action-horror-comedy follows Satan-worshipping tenants living in a luxury New York City building who perform ritualistic killings their mostly poor and marginalized staff.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Mar. 2026
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Set inside a suspiciously anachronistic Dallas-area shopping mall, this recent SXSW premiere follows a quartet of young women working and worshipping at Free Eden.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Lionizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lionizing. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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