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
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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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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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Fans adore the guy who walked around the LA area surrounding Crypto.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
23 May 2025
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Where there is a celebrity or sports figure who has an adoring fan base, those fans do not want to believe their first instinct to adore this person was wrong.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
23 May 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
-
He’s overpraised of course.—
Nick Laird,
The New York Review of Books,
16 Mar. 2023
Noun
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The first services were held at the new house of worship — with an auditorium that could seat more than 2,000 people — on Oct. 25, 1970.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
31 May 2025
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Beyond that, the Trump administration has rescinded guidance that told agents to avoid making arrests at places of worship and has taken people into custody for showing up to immigration appointments.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Celestial Park is an original concept world, which Universal likes to say puts the park back into theme park.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
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In this case, changes in taste doesn’t mean going from liking sweater vests to going all Boho-chic.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Verb
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But authorities were praised for their quick response to the incident and swift updates.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
27 May 2025
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Debatable, but then again, who doesn’t like being praised.—
Anna Juul,
The Dial,
27 May 2025
Noun
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In the comment section, many celebrities shared their love and adoration for baby Jack, including rapper Sexxy Red, actress Justine Skye and Lori Harvey.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
11 May 2025
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America’s irreplaceable contribution to winning that world war and preventing another deserves to be the object of adoration.—
Noah Rothman,
National Review,
8 May 2025
Verb
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Alcaraz had spent his whole childhood idolizing Rafael Nadal.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
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The tour, which paired pop-punk’s elder statesmen with its ascendant newcomers, saw Blink-182 closing each night, despite Green Day being the band Hoppus idolized growing up.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
20 May 2025
Verb
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A couple of the guys congratulated me [on this award], which felt really, really good.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
30 May 2025
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Niles North Principal Marlon Felton, in his first year as the school’s principal, congratulated the class of 2025 in his encouraging remarks to them and their families.—
Pioneer Press,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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