hagiography
noun
Did you know?
The second part of hagiography is familiar: the combining form -graphy, which comes from the Greek verb graphein, meaning "to write," is found in biography and calligraphy (among many others) too. Hagio-, however, is more unusual; it comes from a Greek word that meant "holy, sacred" in Ancient Greek and more recently "saintly," by way of the term Hagiographa, another name for the Ketuvim, the third part of the Jewish Scriptures. English's hagiography can refer to biography of actual saints, but it is more typically applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.
Examples of hagiography in a Sentence
Davis Winkie, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
But rarely does the film rise above hagiography.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
But the documentary, which previously screened at the Tribeca Film Festival last month, is not hagiography.
—David Chiu, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
However, the movie often brushes past what might have been its most intriguing moments in favor of an unobtrusive hagiography.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hagiography
Cite this Entry
“Hagiography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hagiography. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share