1
as in to adore
to love or admire too much
people who hero-worship celebrities are setting themselves up for disappointment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to overpraise
to praise too much
a golfing pro who is hero-worshipped by hordes of weekend duffers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in worship
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
once the object of uncritical hero worship, the aging quarterback now faces the derision of his team's fickle fans
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hero-worship
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Verb
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Machismo is another one of these elements as the doc repeatedly shows a star matador and his hero-worshipping entourage.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
Prone to hero worship early on, Drake hashed out his style in public, dabbling in rap while working on the Canadian teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Springsteen admires the precision, energy, and intelligence of Bryan’s songwriting, but he’s also clearly charmed by the 28-year-old Navy veteran’s obvious hero worship, puppy-in-a-frat energy, and relentless sincerity.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hero-worship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hero-worship
Verb
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Photo of the day: Happy birthday, Moo Deng Thailand's iconic baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrated her first birthday on Thursday, devouring a massive tropical fruit platter alongside her mother as throngs of adoring fans turned up for her four-day party.—
Jane Onyanga-Omara,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
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Carissa is also a deeply loved aunt, adored by her nieces and nephews.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
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Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.—
Armond White,
National Review,
24 May 2023
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He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Noun
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This should be the subject of discussions in America’s classrooms, book clubs, houses of worship, legislative chambers, service clubs, podcasts, and social media feeds in 2026.—
Hans Zeiger,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 July 2025
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Summerfest, incidentally, has had a worship pop through-line this year.—
jsonline.com,
jsonline.com,
4 July 2025
Verb
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There’s a lot to like about Too Much, which Dunham co-created with her musician husband, Luis Felber.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
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Red, black and white are the three main colors, but last year’s women’s singles champion, Barbora Krejčíková, likes to use silver on her Head racket.—
Caoimhe O'Neill,
New York Times,
11 July 2025
Verb
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But while Johnson critics praised the move as fiscally responsible, mayoral allies blasted it as a reckless effort to block the City Council majority’s will.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
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Gadd acknowledged disappointment over losing Jones’ contribution, praising the actor’s exceptional work and noting audiences would miss seeing his full performance range.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Were any parts of her personality driven in direct opposition or in adoration of her two older sisters?—
Brooke Lea Foster,
People.com,
30 June 2025
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There’s not this salivation for love, adoration— From your audiences.—
Danyel Smith,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2025
Verb
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The 32-year-old Powell grew up in San Diego idolizing both Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.—
Ivan Carter,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 July 2025
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Sun forward Tina Charles grew up idolizing the Shock dynasty, especially legendary forwards Cheryl Ford and Swin Cash.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Keynote speaker and commanding officer Marine Corps Col. Kwabena K. Gyimah shared his personal journey as a son of parents who immigrated from Ghana and congratulated the troops.—
David J. Bohnet,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 July 2025
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Among those congratulating Affleck on Instagram are her Mormon Wives co-stars, and fellow moms-to-be Mayci Neeley and Mikayla Matthews.—
Sari Hitchins,
Parents,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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