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:
It's nice for people to support you, don't get me wrong, but we can't lionize people being in prison.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024
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
His character — only referred to as Nitram, so as not to lionize the actual shooter, who remains in prison — plods through the movie like an intimidatingly oversized child.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
“There is a prevailing narrative in the public mind to sort of lionize certain weapons systems as having a defining impact on certain conflicts,” he said, but “the reality is often more complex.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2022
I forget whether I told you that the Sedgwicks had sent me a friend of theirs, an American country clergyman, to lionize about London, which I have been doing for the last three days.
From Records of Later Life by Fanny Kemble
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
Teachers may be lionized by Hollywood, but in practice they’re underpaid, overworked and disrespected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024
In the late 1960s and 1970s, the left-wing counterculture lionized outlaws like the Hells Angels for their rebellion against a hated establishment.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
In his first days at home, Elisha found himself lionized in the papers as an American superhero, and in a serious fight with his family.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
But much more often, it’s simply a necessity — one that’s erased when lionizing the chill moms and the wild summers.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Things get messy when we start lionizing anyone, perhaps especially young men who were just good at playing a child’s game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
“I think society has just stopped lionizing this kind of guy.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
At the same time, the N.F.L. carefully tapped into the American fascination with organizational genius, lionizing the figure of the coach.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2019
When we got to the door it was pitch dark; and thus ended our lionizing of the public buildings of Liverpool.
From Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada by Henry A. Murray
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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.
