Synonyms of venerate

venerate

verb

ˈve-nə-ˌrāt 

as in to worship

to offer honor or respect to (someone) as a divine power

a proper setting in which to venerate God

Synonyms & Similar Words

• worship
• revere
• reverence
• honor
• admire
• adore
• respect
• praise
• deify
• glorify
• love
• regard
• extol
• please
• dignify
• exalt
• lionize
• laud
• canonize
• gratify
• apotheosize
• satisfy
• magnify
• delight

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• violate
• desecrate
• blaspheme
• insult
• ridicule
• scorn
• offend
• profane
• dishonor
• outrage
• slight
• disparage
• displease
• disrespect
• affront
• libel
• smear
• slander
• defame
• pique
• malign
• slur

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

Recent Examples of venerate

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, 1 June 2026

And the qualities that once stigmatized the sport are now venerated by the White House. —Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 28 May 2026

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

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