hagiography

[ hag-ee-og-ruh-fee, hey-jee- ]

noun

, plural hag·i·og·ra·phies.

1. the writing and critical study of the lives of the saints; hagiology.
2. a biography that treats the person with excessive or undue admiration.

hagiography

/ ˌhæɡɪˈɒɡrəfɪ; ˌhæɡɪəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1. the writing of the lives of the saints
2. biography of the saints
3. any biography that idealizes or idolizes its subject

Derived Forms

• hagiographic, adjective

Other Words From

• hag·i·o·graph·ic [hag-ee-, uh, -, graf, -ik, hey-jee-], hagi·o·graphi·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hagiography¹

First recorded in 1805–15; hagio- + -graphy

Example Sentences

Rivers is too complicated a personality for hagiography.

From Los Angeles Times

That story is neither hagiography nor hit job.

From Los Angeles Times

Gaines, for his part, attributes the notoriety of the original book to his and Brown’s refusal to produce a sanitized hagiography, and their decision instead to publish controversial private details.

From New York Times

“My intention throughout,” he writes, “has been to avoid hagiography and hero worship, telling Lewis’s full story with all its ups and downs intact.”

From Seattle Times

But American audiences still tend to be fed documentaries of only a few types: true crime stories, cult exposés, hagiographies, and educational disquisitions full of talking heads.

From New York Times