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worship

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verb

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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

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
And yet part of the quarterback’s allure is that, for all the worship lavished on those in the position, there is still a mystery about them. Seth Wickersham, The Atlantic, 8 Sep. 2025 They power hospitals, schools, museums, places of worship, food banks, research labs, parks, and shelters. Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
Even if the majority of their fans have given up on this quest, and moved on to the ritual of worshipping all things football, there is an unofficial magic number that if the Rangers reach would nearly guarantee a partial salvage of this season. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2025 Yahoo News reports that Berenice II had a remarkable life, becoming a queen worshipped like a goddess. Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 23 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worship
Verb
  • Advertisement Trump’s insistence on honoring these Confederates implicitly venerates their politics — and provides a justification for his own rule and ruin tactics, which so often echo them.
    Time, Time, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The site is retired from active worship but still venerated.
    Jack Tydeman, Travel + Leisure, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • John Thompson used to love winning games when his Georgetown Hoyas made a lot of mistakes.
    David Aldridge, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Brunch here means shrimp and grits, wings and waffles, and decadent cakes that live up to the bakery’s fun-loving name.
    Rai Mincey, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Slater takes on the role of Bob Olson, the adored but flawed father at the heart of the story.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Huse adored Chicago-style hot dogs, trips to Rainbow River and movies, especially old films.
    Gabrielle Calise, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Over the past couple of months, the doting couple has continued to engage in digital PDA, commenting on one another’s posts and sharing their adoration for each other via interviews.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Acutis was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist each day, a practice known as Eucharistic adoration.
    Jessie Wardarski, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • But Trump also reverenced the tough job Emmer has in keeping the GOP majority together, with which Emmer is all too familiar after the chaotic last two years.
    Emily Brooks, The Hill, 3 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • From the days of the James brothers to James Franklin, Kansas and Missouri haven’t liked each other for a long time.
    Quentin Corpuel, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
  • This might seem fussy, but no one likes watery pimiento cheese.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Destroy this death worshipping, terroristic cult.
    Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Hank Hill — stiff, sincere, propane-worshipping — wasn’t a joke.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • That’s an understandable perspective, but where the morals of the interview get so twisted is how much weight Thug gives to being a millionaire and why that’s a big reason he should not just be respected but revered.
    Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The Victorians had turned death into something of a pageant, something to be celebrated as much as revered; for the large part, death followed illness and was often witnessed by surviving family members.
    Alice Vernon September 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worship. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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