lionize
verb
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Across time and across cultures—as evidenced from Chauvet-Pont d’Arc’s paintings to The Lion King—lions have captured people’s imaginations. Though the big cats themselves are fascinatingly complex, it’s perhaps no surprise that humans have long projected qualities of bravery and regality upon the proverbial “king of the beasts.” It is precisely those and similar admirable qualities that led, in the 18th century, to lion being used for a person who is similarly well-regarded, especially after a long and distinguished career in a particular field, as in “lion of the Senate,” or “literary lion.” This sense of lion imbues the verb lionize, which first appeared in English in the early 19th century to apply to acts of treating someone as, perhaps, deserving of roaring applause.
Examples of lionize in a Sentence
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
His life wasn’t cut short like the lives of Jimi Hendrix or John Lennon, which was great, but also meant that he wasn’t lionized as a brilliant comet gone too soon.
—Ben Greenman, Pitchfork, 10 June 2025
Since his arrest in Pennsylvania earlier this week, Luigi Mangione has been the subject of memes, which have lionized his physique and appearance.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
In the years after the attack, Trump lionized the Jan. 6 attackers and praised Babbitt as a martyr to his MAGA cause.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lionize
Cite this Entry
“Lionize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lionize. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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