noun
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the act or process of exalting to the position of a god
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the state or condition of being deified
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deification
1350–1400; Middle English deificacion < Late Latin deificātiōn- (stem of deificātiō ), equivalent to deificāt ( us ) (past participle of deificāre; deific ( us ) deific + -ātus -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Deification is when a person is treated like a god. If you love your basketball coach so much that you build her an altar and bow whenever she walks by, that’s deification. And a little weird. This word is a variation of deify which means to treat someone like a deity (a god). Deification is treating a mere mortal as someone godly. Often, this word is used negatively. For example, enthusiastic fans of someone could be accused of deification by non-fans. Someone must be considered extremely impressive to be the object of deification. This word is related to Latin deus (god).
Vocabulary lists containing deification
The Souls of Black Folk
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"Reality Check," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Island of Doctor Moreau
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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.
Deification is unwarranted, but conducting entails much more than "just waving the baton around."
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2018
Oh, Priestess of Cubical passion, Oh, Deification of Whim, You seem to walk down in the fashion That lame lobsters swim. 43Here we have Mr. P.B.
From The Re-echo Club by Wells, Carolyn
Idea of, 39–40; of the gods, 99 Deification.
From Myths and Legends of China by Werner, E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers)
Marriage in particular is a kind of Counter-Apotheosis, or a Deification inverted.
From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph
The revelation sought for was not so much a dogmatic revelation as a revelation of the processes of "transmutation" of Rebirth, of Apotheosis or "Deification."
From The Gnôsis of the Light by Lamplugh, F.
Definitions 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.
