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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 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
-
For the first time, people who have long adored his work finally understood his genius beyond just the writing and creating of great pictures.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
The next video is great for curious kids who adore animals.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Dozens of hospitals, clinics shuttered In less than four years, Haiti has seen the destruction and closure of dozens of hospitals and medical clinics as armed groups take over entire towns and set up encampments in places of worship, private homes and buildings that once saved lived.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
-
For many in attendance, the commemoration has new meaning amid federal immigration enforcement targeting immigrant communities, including the risk of arrest at a place of worship.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Whether Grandpa was in charge of making his famous recipe, helped Grandma whip up his favorite cake, or just liked to put in a request for his favorite dessert, these recipes are just like the ones Grandpa always looked forward to eating after Easter dinner.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2025
-
There will always be Penguins fans who don’t like Ovechkin, and there will always be Capitals fans who don’t like Crosby.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
During his papacy, he was both praised and criticized for commenting on political issues, from immigration to LGBTQ issues.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
-
In a separate conversation with EW, Mazin praises Pascal's performance as a dying Joel.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Joseph Lawrence, whose adoration of his first wife blinds him to all other women, is getting dragged to the strip club.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2025
-
TikTok users were quick to share their adoration of the special moment.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Lopakhin and Varya are pushed together throughout the play, but poor Varya, also born working class, will never be able to break through the part of Lopakhin that still idolizes the very nobility that oppressed his family for generations.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Green’s lawyer, John Burke, highlighted how abuse and instability in his childhood led him to idolize gang members and join a gang as a young teenager.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
That ethical dodge — congratulating modern progress, ignoring this era’s nervous breakdown — is the basic, political, insensitive reason that contemporary Hollywood cannot create love stories.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Celebrities and fellow golfers congratulated him after his big win.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hero-worship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hero-worship. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share