idolize

English

Alternative forms

• (UK) idolise

Etymology

From idol +‎ -ize.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɪdəlaɪz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Verb

idolize (third-person singular simple present idolizes, present participle idolizing, simple past and past participle idolized)

1. To make an idol of, or to worship as an idol.
2. To adore excessively; to revere immoderately.

   Synonyms: exalt, magnify, venerate, worthy; see also Thesaurus:glorify, Thesaurus:revere

   idolize a celebrity

   idolize someone blindly

   Many young fans idolize pop stars.

   She was idolized by her students.

Derived terms

• de-idolize
• deidolize
• idolization
• idolizer
• idolizingly
• unidolized

Translations

to make an idol of

• Afrikaans: aanbid, verafgod
• Arabic: أَلَه (ʔalah)
• Bulgarian: прекланям се (preklanjam se), боготворя (bg) (bogotvorja)
• Catalan: idolatrar (ca)
• Choctaw: afehnʋchi
• Danish: idolisere
• Dutch: verafgoden (nl)
• Finnish: ihannoida (fi), jumaloida (fi), palvoa (fi)
• French: idolâtrer (fr)
• Hungarian: bálványoz (hu)
• Italian: idolatrare (it)
• Polish: ubóstwiać (pl) impf, ubóstwić pf
• Serbo-Croatian: obožavati (sh)
• Spanish: idolatrar (es)
• Swedish: idolisera
• Turkish: idolleştirmek, ilahlaştırmak, tanrılaştırmak (tr), putlaştırmak (tr)

to adore excessively

• Bulgarian: обожавам (bg) (obožavam)
• Catalan: idolatrar (ca)
• Finnish: ihannoida (fi), jumaloida (fi), palvoa (fi)
• Hungarian: istenít (hu)
• Spanish: idolatrar (es)
• Swedish: idolisera
• Turkish: ilahlaştırmak, tapmak (tr)

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “idolize”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “idolize”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.