worship 1 of 2

Definition of worshipnext

worship

2 of 2

verb

1
2
3

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb worship differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of worship are adore, reverence, revere, and venerate. While all these words mean "to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully," worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

In what contexts can adore take the place of worship?

The synonyms adore and worship 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 worship?

In some situations, the words revere and worship are roughly equivalent. However, revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

When could reverence be used to replace worship?

The words reverence and worship can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is venerate a more appropriate choice than worship?

While the synonyms venerate and worship are close in meaning, venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

How does the verb worship differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of worship are adore, reverence, revere, and venerate. While all these words mean "to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully," worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

In what contexts can adore take the place of worship?

The synonyms adore and worship 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 worship?

In some situations, the words revere and worship are roughly equivalent. However, revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

When could reverence be used to replace worship?

The words reverence and worship can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is venerate a more appropriate choice than worship?

While the synonyms venerate and worship are close in meaning, venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

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 worship
Noun
Mousa is charged with two counts of felony vandalism with hate crime enhancements, two counts of felony vandalism of a place of worship with hate crime enhancements, felony placement of a swastika and one misdemeanor vandalism count. Bay City News Service, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026 Unlike Sunni Muslims, Alawites do not pray in mosques but instead have their own places of worship; in addition to not requiring women to wear the hijab, the Alawite sect also does not have any dietary restrictions and does not prohibit alcohol. Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
No diva worship or esoteric knowledge of Broadway musicals here. E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026 Smith, on the other hand, was all about music, especially worship music, Pack said. Jamie Landers, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worship
Noun
  • Bad Bunny’s adoration for Chile is hardly new.
    Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
  • And yet the 1934 World Cup in Italy was turned into a spectacle of adoration for the Fascist dictator Mussolini.
    Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Dozens of firearms also were recovered, including handguns with images of Santa Muerte (a Mexican folk saint venerated by drug dealers) and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
    Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
  • In ancient Greece certain mortals who had achieved kleos (glory or fame) in life were venerated in death.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Friday could be another emotional day for those who love Tatum, but for far more enjoyable reasons.
    Jay King, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Our testers loved the consistency and butteriness, and noticed noticeable differences within just a few weeks of using it.
    Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Salvias are adored for their abundant blooms which attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to the garden.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Hollywood creates silver screen narratives adored by the world, but its institution for visual art was getting lapped by smaller cities.
    Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • By the nail holes above and beside the worshiping altar, the household hung garlands.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Afternoons are made for fresh piña coladas, languid sun worshipping, and offshore adventures on motorboats fully stocked with snorkels, fins, and local beer.
    Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 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
Verb
  • The Montana Republican unexpectedly dropped his reelection bid on Wednesday night — a surprise, though Daines didn’t love all the travel and likes to spend time with his family.
    Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Some people like to vote on election day, said Dianne Clinkscale from Dallas, arguing that the county’s voters got cheated out their right on to vote.
    Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • As a cipher, the Discobolus can either represent Pollak’s humanistic ethos of a cosmopolitan society or the idolatries of Hitler’s blood-and-soil fascism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The prophets were understood to have been sent by God to chastise the people of Israel for falling into idolatry and other evils and to urge repentance.
    Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 20 Jan. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worship. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on worship

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster