apotheosis

[ uh-poth-ee-oh-sis, ap-uh-thee-uh-sis ]

/ əˌpɒθ iˈoʊ sɪs, ˌæp əˈθi ə sɪs /

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noun, plural a·poth·e·o·ses

[uh-poth-ee-oh-seez, ap-uh-thee-uh-seez]. /əˌpɒθ iˈoʊ siz, ˌæp əˈθi əˌsiz/.

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.

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Origin of apotheosis

1570–80; <Late Latin <Greek. See apo-, theo-, -osis

Words nearby apotheosis

apothecary, apothecary jar, apothecium, apothegm, apothem, apotheosis, apotheosize, apotropaic, apotropaism, app, appal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use apotheosis in a sentence

In 2014, I wrote a piece that now strikes me as the apotheosis of mid-aughts feminist myopia.
The Failure of the Feminist Industrial Complex|Charlotte Alter|June 24, 2022|Time
The laptops represent the apotheosis of a 14-year strategy that has transformed the company—literally under the hood of its products—in a massive effort to design and build its own chips.
A look inside Apple’s silicon playbook|WIRED|October 24, 2021|Ars Technica
The format Stewart popularized has now reached its undisputed apotheosis with John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight,” while the infotainment and political commentary ecospheres have expanded beyond television to YouTube and social media.
The problem with ‘The Problem With Jon Stewart’|Inkoo Kang|September 30, 2021|Washington Post
Cringe reaches its apotheosis in a particular genre of bizarre video that mashes up politicians with action heroes.
We live in a golden age of cringe|Sonny Bunch|January 27, 2021|Washington Post

To gaze upon the Harden-era Rockets’ shot chart was to see the apotheosis of analytics-based offensive strategy.
James Harden’s Rockets Changed The NBA Forever|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|January 15, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
That transformation of the brand seems now to have its apotheosis in the arrival of the Tour de France.
A British Start to the Tour de France Forces the English to Wonder: What Does Being English Mean Anymore?|Clive Irving|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dance is a vehicle for personal expression, community storytelling, and the apotheosis of ceremony.
Challenging Religious Tradition for the Love of God — and the Love of Dance|Moral Courage|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If life has such a thing as an apotheosis, it surely involves truffled capon.
The Queen of the French Kitchen|Katie Baker|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Over the course of these novels, the style becomes increasingly parsimonious, reaching its apotheosis in The Golden Bowl.
Henry James’s 1904 Sordid Little Sex Farce|Nathaniel Rich|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These triumphs were seen as the apotheosis of human enterprise and might.
The 2013 Novel of the Year Is…|Nathaniel Rich|December 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It may be looked upon as the apotheosis of the old style of organ-building, with low pressures, duplication, and mixtures.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
In the maidenly beauty of her eighteenth spring, the young girl's glance wanders dreamily over the apotheosis of the setting sun.
Urania|Camille Flammarion
So strict are we in etiquette; etiquette indeed being now upon its apotheosis, and after such efforts.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. I. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
The chief feature in the celebration of the triumph was the apotheosis of the heroes who had fallen during the struggle.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 5|Hubert Howe Bancroft
The apotheosis of the old imperial times was made manifest amid fairy-like glamour.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4)|Richard Muther

British Dictionary definitions for apotheosis

apotheosis

/ (əˌpɒθɪˈəʊsɪs) /

noun plural -ses (-siːz)

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 eventthe apotheosis of De Niro's career

Word Origin for apotheosis

C17: via Late Latin from Greek: deification, from theos god

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

apotheosis

Origin of apotheosis

Words nearby apotheosis

Words related to apotheosis

How to use apotheosis in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apotheosis

Word Origin for apotheosis