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
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
Following the shooting, a community of fans lionized the shooter as a left-wing folk hero standing up for the common man against the evils of the US health care system.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 16 Dec. 2024
In the aftermath of the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, social media exploded with those decrying it and others lionizing the chief suspect, Luigi Mangione.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
He has been further lionized in a post-Soviet Russia.
—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2016
See all Example Sentences for lionize 
Dictionary Entries Near lionize
Cite this Entry
“Lionize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lionize. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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