as in worship
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
the mass idolization of the Renaissance artist continues to this day
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Recent Examples of idolization
The idolization of Steve Spurrier, dating a UF alum and understanding of Florida recruiting after a stint at FAU rang seemed to work in his favor.
—
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Nov. 2025
But even more clear to me this go-around was that Bella's idolization of Edward comes from a horrifyingly insecure place.
—USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Her idolization has made her Mexico’s unofficial national totem, perhaps second only to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
—Mathew Sandoval, The Conversation, 24 Oct. 2023
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Nov. 2025
But even more clear to me this go-around was that Bella's idolization of Edward comes from a horrifyingly insecure place.
—USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Her idolization has made her Mexico’s unofficial national totem, perhaps second only to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
—Mathew Sandoval, The Conversation, 24 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idolization
Noun
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Music will always be a uniting force, whether it's sung in our cars at the top of our lungs, or in houses of worship, or at football games or on the streets of Minnesota.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
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Armed guards must be posted in front of houses of worship.—
David Kay,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 June 2026
Noun
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Wong says her journey has been rooted in a fundamental adoration for the pure impact of cuisine and the need to never forget the flavors that carved her family's path to their future.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
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The feverish adoration of kolaches, originally a Czech creation brought to Texas by immigrants, is no coincidence at the historic Pearl.—
Colleen McNally Arnett,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Sometimes it has been connected with Catholic nationalism; at other times it has been promoted as the opposite — as an antidote to the idolatry of the state.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
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Hyper-racial idolatry may be too competitive a field on the internet to cut through.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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With wide sidewalks and a friendly park sandwiched in the middle, this is the city’s best stroll for window shopping, people watching, and sun worshiping.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
10 June 2026
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By the nail holes above and beside the worshiping altar, the household hung garlands.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Trump seemed to enjoy the adulation.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
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Players sprinted to that corner and soaked up the adulation before taking a ceremonial victory lap around the field.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
15 June 2026
Noun
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After employees railed against Kirk’s deification by the right, his deifiers organized retribution against the employees and their employers.—
Jerel Ezell,
Mercury News,
6 May 2026
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The deification and worship of Japanese war criminals responsible for some of the Japanese Empire’s worst crimes in Korea and China has long been a source of rancor in the region.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idolization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idolization. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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