hagiographic

adjective

ˌha-gē-ə-ˈgra-fik How to pronounce hagiographic (audio)
variants also hagiographical
Definition of hagiographicnext
as in sickening
overly or insincerely flattering a hagiographic portrait of one of the pioneers of the automotive age

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hagiographic What historians and theologians know about Francis comes primarily from his own writings and hagiographic texts. — Vanessa Corcoran, The Conversation, 2 Feb. 2026 While these celebrity docs are hagiographic and formulaic, the interviews with Nadal and family and rivals like Federer and Novak Djokovic do push beyond the surface. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 Part of what makes Davies’s article so interesting is that is a refreshingly contrarian departure from the usual hagiographic treatment of Elon Musk, the precocious info-age Young Turk supposedly running rings around the sclerotic rust-belt competition. — IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2016 In a way, then, a documentary like Angus Wall’s Being Eddie, a generally amiable and adulatory 90 minutes streaming on Netflix, fails; with its softly hagiographic approach, the director never pushes Eddie Murphy to any place that feels untapped or confrontational, and therefore newsworthy. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hagiographic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hagiographic
  1. sickening
  2. adulatory
  3. gushy
  4. oily
  5. oleaginous
  6. soapy
  7. unctuous
  8. demonstrative
Adjective
  • But there are multiple Ebola strains, and those vaccines, treatments, and tests aren’t effective against the rarer strain, Bundibugyo, sickening people today.
    — Alice Park, Time, 2 July 2026
  • Toxic fumes are leaking into airplanes and sickening passengers and crew members at an alarming rate, according to a September 2025 report by The Wall Street Journal.
    — Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • Besides being a record of events, the work is a crafty portrayal of kingship, presenting Akbar in an adulatory tone, as an exemplary and divinely favored ruler.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Reggie’s solution is to hire Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), an Oscar-winning documentarian, to make an adulatory film about him, changing public perception and opening new doors.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026
Definition of adulatory
Adjective
  • Except for the unfettered devotion in the latter is replaced by swooping strings and a gushy chorus that merely offer an antiseptic veneer.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 18 June 2026
  • The announcement may come as a shock for country fans who have followed the couple through their sappy podcast appearances and gushy acceptance speeches.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026
Definition of gushy
Adjective
  • The salsa macha is an oily, toasty condiment pasty with peanuts and sesame seeds.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Eucerin’s Clear Skin Sunscreen is formulated with oily, acne-prone skin in mind.
    — Genevieve Cepeda, InStyle, 27 June 2026
Definition of oily
Adjective
  • One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.
    — David Owen, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
  • Ted Cruz, the perennial front-runner, is smug and oleaginous—hated equally by his colleagues and the public.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 26 Sep. 2022
Definition of oleaginous
Adjective
  • Using too much detergent leaves soapy residue in fabrics, trapping dirt, bacteria, and hard water minerals, which leaves clothes looking dull, feeling stiff and scratchy, and smelling bad.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 July 2026
  • Wipe out any obvious crumbs with a dry rag, then return with a soapy microfiber cloth.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 4 July 2026
Definition of soapy
Adjective
  • The unctuous and sweet char siu pork jowl is interspersed with green apple pressed with lime and ginger for a bright and crisp counter to the fatty pig.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026
  • Made with the unctuous 8-percent-fat milk of the water buffalo—animals that may have arrived in the area via the Normans by way of Sicily, or perhaps by the Goths coming from Central Asia—buffalo mozzarella has been produced at least since the twelfth century.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of unctuous
Adjective
  • Christian Pulisic is the most important player, but not the most demonstrative.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Finns may not be known for demonstrative cheerfulness, nor necessarily for being makers of excessively happy music.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026
Definition of demonstrative

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hagiographers
hagiographic
hagiographies
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Cite this Entry

“Hagiographic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hagiographic. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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