lionize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to treat (a person) as a celebrity.
to lionize the visiting poet.
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British. to visit or exhibit the objects of interest of (a place).
verb (used without object)
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to pursue celebrities or seek their company.
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British. to visit the objects of interest of a place.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lionize
First recorded in 1800–10; lion + -ize ( def. )
Explanation
The lion is often portrayed as the noble king of beasts. As such, to lionize someone is to characterize them as being highly important and distinguished, like a great and honorable leader. In literature and art, the lion is often used as a symbol of pride, strength, courage, and nobility. So when you lionize someone, you attribute to them all those impressive traits. Sports stars and political leaders are often lionized by their supporters. Some people are uncomfortable with being lionized. After rescuing a puppy from a frozen pond, the local teenager who did the good deed might resist people's efforts to lionize him, saying, "I'm no hero! I only did what anybody else would do!"
Vocabulary lists containing lionize
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "K" "L""M" and "N" and "O"
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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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.
See Examples For:
There’s also a whole bit in the courtroom of David swatting at a fly as his attorney attempts to lionize him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
But I am not among your favorite legal commentators, and, as you've probably guessed from the title, I am not here to lionize Justice O'Connor.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023
It refuses to lionize Logan, but it's still a tough act to follow.
From Salon ● May 22, 2023
The library says it will humanize Roosevelt, not lionize him.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2022
Likely she hadn't understood him after all—he had only meant that he didn't want a mob of folks around making a fuss over him and trying to lionize him, as they had probably done over-harbour.
From Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
Stubborn, single-minded and tireless, lionized and controversial, the Los Angeles water boss was 72.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
As Greenspan left office in 2005, Greenspan was lionized as the “maestro,” or the greatest central banker of the century.
From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026
Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, murdered by the SS before he could be freed by Allied troops, is lionized in American churches, and his letters from prison became standard reading in Bible studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
The alleged villains in the trial are former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch, who once was lionized as shining example of British ingenuity, and Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice president of finance.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2024
Outstanding oarsmen were lionized in the national press, even in the era of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Decades of lionizing men like Nile Jarvis have made his detestable personality not just easy to spot, but queasily appealing.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025
“I think society has just stopped lionizing this kind of guy.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
Already she’s spent many episodes analyzing, and lionizing, the show’s newest cast member.
From New York Times ● Aug. 18, 2021
It’s hilarious and biting, and the hippie pacifist ends up lionizing John McCain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2020
Yet not one instant did he waste in recreation or lionizing.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 45, July, 1861 by Various
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.
