apotheosis
noun
ˌa-pə-ˈthē-ə-səs
Sam TanenhausDavid Leavin
Did you know?
Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes thought fitting to grant someone "god" status. Hence the word apothéōsis, from the verb apotheóō or apotheoûn, meaning "to deify." (All are rooted in Greek theós, meaning "god," which we can also thank for such religion-related terms as theology and atheism.). There's not a lot of literal apotheosizing to be had in modern English, but apotheosis is thriving in the 21st century. It can refer to the highest or best part of something, as in "the celebration reaches its apotheosis in an elaborate feast," or to a perfect example or ultimate form, as in "a movie that is the apotheosis of the sci-fi genre."
Examples of apotheosis in a Sentence
Thomas Swick, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2025
As far as men’s clothes are concerned, the apotheosis for me was between the Edwardian era—Victorian had a few too many frills, a bit too heavy—and the 1920s, the jazz age, with its freedom, a bit of laissez faire, a bit of inventiveness.
—Mark Holgate, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025
That scene at the opera was, for me anyway, the apotheosis of it.
—Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 26 Apr. 2025
But humanity is not progressing toward an apotheosis.
—A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for apotheosis
Cite this Entry
“Apotheosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apotheosis. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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