Definition of veneratenext

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb venerate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of venerate are adore, reverence, revere, and worship. While all these words mean "to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully," venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

Where would adore be a reasonable alternative to venerate?

The synonyms adore and venerate are sometimes interchangeable, but adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.

we adored our doctor

When can revere be used instead of venerate?

While in some cases nearly identical to venerate, revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

When is reverence a more appropriate choice than venerate?

Although the words reverence and venerate have much in common, reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring.

reverenced the academy's code of honor

In what contexts can worship take the place of venerate?

In some situations, the words worship and venerate are roughly equivalent. However, worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

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 venerate In a culture where age is venerated, the banyan is the oldest living thing most people will encounter here. Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026 People were so eager to venerate his remains that skulls of his magically multiplied. Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 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 In that vein, there has recently been considerable attention paid to Hasan Piker, the controversial influencer whom progressives have venerated yet whose extremism and anti-American tirades worry moderates — and give Republicans ammunition. Douglas E. Schoen, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for venerate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for venerate
Verb
  • 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
  • In more recent years, far-right conspiracy propagators have alleged that global political and business elites worship Moloch in secret and enact policies to appease the sadistic deity.
    Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 30 May 2026
Verb
  • This land has long been revered as the home of Pele, the goddess of creation and destruction.
    Alia Beard Rau, USA Today, 10 June 2026
  • Its Black Madonna statue, which studies show originally was white but turned dark by centuries of smoke and incense before being painted black, is widely revered.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 June 2026
Verb
  • Written with the intimacy of a conversation among loved ones, Someday, Now invites readers to sit with loss while still reverencing the beauty of life, parenting, and letting our children flourish.
    Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
  • But Pi is precociously enlightened, his innocence not a problem to be rectified but a quality to be reverenced.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Venerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/venerate. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.

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