hero worship

¹

noun

1. a profound reverence for great people or their memory.
2. extravagant or excessive admiration for a personal hero.

hero-worship

²

[ heer-oh-wur-ship ]

verb (used with object)

, he·ro-wor·shiped, he·ro-wor·ship·ing or (especially British) he·ro-wor·shipped, he·ro-wor·ship·ping.

1. to feel or express hero worship for.

hero worship

noun

1. admiration for heroes or idealized persons
2. worship by the ancient Greeks and Romans of heroes

verb

1. tr to feel admiration or adulation for

Derived Forms

• ˈhero-ˌworshipper, noun

Other Words From

• hero-worship·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hero worship¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Origin of hero worship²

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

But maybe Cohn just wants to bask in Trump’s sycophantic hero worship of him?

From Salon

A fitting coda to a childish slog of hero worship.

From Los Angeles Times

Herbert wrote about his distrust — hatred, even — of hero worship and how it influenced Dune for the July 1980 issue of Omni Magazine.

From Seattle 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

They help us to peel back some of the layers of legend and hero worship that obscure the whole story of American history.

From Literature