apotheosis
Americannoun
-
apotheoses
plural
-
the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.
-
the ideal example; epitome; quintessence.
This poem is the apotheosis of lyric expression.
noun
-
the elevation of a person to the rank of a god; deification
-
glorification of a person or thing
-
a glorified ideal
-
the best or greatest time or event
the apotheosis of De Niro's career
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of apotheosis
Explanation
If your teacher says the term paper you handed in last week is a work of genius that sets a new gold standard for the school, he's telling you your work is the apotheosis of term papers. The epitome. Perfection. Hidden in the middle of apotheosis you'll find the Greek theos, meaning god. (Theology, the study of religion, has the same root.) Combine theos with apo "from" and you get a person, place, or thing that is so out-of-this-world amazing that it seems as if it's "from God." It's divine. You could make the assertion that Leonardo da Vinci was the apotheosis of genius and that the Mona Lisa is the apotheosis of all his paintings.
Vocabulary lists containing apotheosis
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Hidden Figures
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week In Words: August 31–September 6, 2019
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They called it the “Attitude Era,” and in retrospect it represented the absolute apotheosis of pre-millennium x-treme marketing.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Mr. Rood tells us, that the plantation model reached “the apotheosis of the form.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Which brings me to what I believe is the modern apotheosis of the genre.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2025
This revisionist history reached its apotheosis with a 2007 essay collection edited by the historians Kenneth T. Jackson and Hilary Ballon.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2024
Once the apotheosis of suburban constancy, Levittown is now an example of those same suburbs coming apart at the seams.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
And the things it forgets, the apotheoses and apocalypses it lets sift through its mesh!
From The Guardian ● Oct. 15, 2016
They are their own apotheoses, their own parodies.
From Time Magazine Archive
Outraged public conscience extinguishes the fires of apotheoses such as these.
From Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty by Arthur Léon, baron Imbert de Saint-Amand
Eagle of the apotheoses, what breath of Erebus has driven thee to me? or, flying from the Campus Martius, dost thou bring to me the soul of the last of the Emperors?
From The Temptation of St. Antony or A Revelation of the Soul by Gustave Flaubert
Thus did flattery renew the apotheoses of the Caesars of ancient Rome.
From The Court of the Empress Josephine by Thomas Sergeant Perry
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
