hagiography

noun

ha·gi·og·ra·phy ˌha-gē-ˈä-grə-fē

ˌhā-,

-jē-

Synonyms of hagiography next

: biography of saints or venerated persons

: idealizing or idolizing biography

an account that smacks of hagiography

Did you know?

Like biography and autograph, the word hagiography has to do with the written word. The combining form -graphy comes from Greek graphein, meaning "to write." Hagio- comes from a Greek word that means "saintly" or "holy." This origin is seen in Hagiographa, the Greek designation of the Ketuvim, the third part of the Jewish Scriptures. English's hagiography, though it can refer to biography of actual saints, is these days more often applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.

Examples of hagiography in a Sentence

a hagiography about a famous politician The book gives a good idea of his virtues without resorting to hagiography.

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Concert movies, especially ones like this that are essentially authorized by the artists, often skirt hagiography. —

Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Oct. 2024 Her subjects are just people on the day that will be their last; this is not hagiography. —

Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2024 The state-run media participated in grotesque displays of hagiography and helped produce a cult of personality around the president, whose portrait hung everywhere. —

Michele Penner Angrist, Foreign Affairs, 16 Jan. 2011 The first section is a thoroughly entertaining mixture of biography, trivia and hagiography. —

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hagiography