venerate

verb

ven·​er·​ate ˈve-nə-ˌrāt 

venerated; venerating

transitive verb

1

: to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference

2

: to honor (an icon, a relic, etc.) with a ritual act of devotion

venerator

ˈve-nə-ˌrā-tər 

noun

Did you know?

Venerate comes from the Latin root venerārī, which has the various meanings of "to solicit the good will of," "to worship," "to pay homage to," and "to hold in awe."  That root is related to Venus, which, as a proper noun, is the name of the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Synonyms

• adore
• deify
• glorify
• revere
• reverence
• worship

Choose the Right Synonym for venerate

revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully.

revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

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

venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.

we adored our doctor

Examples of venerate in a Sentence

a writer venerated by generations of admirers

She is venerated as a saint.

Recent Examples on the Web

For a chef who owns dozens of restaurants in multiple cities, José Andrés venerates nothing more than home cooking. —Joe Yonan, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024

The site is venerated in both Islam and Judaism, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the Temple Mount. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024

The scene, complete with a nearby lemonade table, felt like the most extreme possible caricature of what people who venerate the classics would do for fun. —Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024

Much of that context has been ignored in Western depictions of samurai, however, in favor of an almost exclusively venerating portrait—an odd effect of the popularity of Clavell’s Shōgun. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024

Las Vegas is the place that venerates its murderous gambling pioneers with a museum and offers tours of the homes and businesses of the infamous. —John L. Smith, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2024

Once killed out of fear of the evil eye, they’re now venerated. —Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024

She was so deeply invested in exalting and venerating the mundane dimensions of Black folks’ lives. —Essence, 19 Jan. 2024

Conservatives venerate the building of wealth and political power but see themselves as persecuted by intellectuals and bureaucrats. —Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin venerātus, past participle of Latin venerārī "to solicit the good will of (a deity), worship, pay homage to, hold in awe," verbal derivative of vener-, venus "sexual desire, qualities exciting desire, charm, (as proper noun) goddess personifying sexual attractiveness" (probably originally in cognate accusative phrase Venerem venerārī "to propitiate Venus," extended to other deities) — more at venus

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

venerate

verb

ven·​er·​ate ˈven-ə-ˌrāt 

venerated; venerating

: to show deep respect for

venerated their ancestors