deify

[dee-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object), de·i·fied, de·i·fy·ing.

to make a god of; exalt to the rank of a deity; personify as a deity: to deify a beloved king.

to adore or regard as a deity: to deify wealth.

Origin of deify

1300–50; Middle English deifien < Old French deifier < Late Latin deificāre. See deification, -ify

Related formsde·i·fi·er, nounhalf-de·i·fied, adjectivehy·per·de·i·fy, verb (used with object), hy·per·de·i·fied, hy·per·de·i·fy·ing.self-de·i·fy·ing, adjectiveun·de·i·fied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for deified

idealize, ennoble, idolize, exalt, venerate, consecrate, adore, immortalize, extol, worship, enthrone

Examples from the Web for deified

Contemporary Examples of deified

And while Garcia had long been revered as the leader of the group, this was when, Weir says, fans “deified Jerry.”
Bob Weir on Drugged-Out Deadheads and Living in Jerry Garcia’s Shadow
Emily Shire
April 25, 2014
He was the last of a deified generation of CBS News luminaries that included Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, and Ed Bradley.
Emotional Memorial for ‘60 Minutes’ Legend Mike Wallace
Lloyd Grove
May 1, 2012
Still, expectations are high, given that the series is based on a work by one of the most deified literary figures of our time.
The Next Twin Peaks?
Jace Lacob
July 8, 2010

Historical Examples of deified

Once place my colleague on the other side, You'd say, This lawyer should be deified!
Punchinello, Vol. 1, Issue 10, Saturday, June 4, 1870
Various
We know the oaths taken by those subjects to their deified kings.
The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism
Franz Cumont
The fact that Dungi is called "the deified" is not surprising.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1
Various
Livia, priestess of the deified Augustus; Germanicus was his flamen.
The Last Poems of Ovid
Ovid
Nature is, in fact, deified, whatever other sacrifices are made.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847
Various

British Dictionary definitions for deified

deify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to exalt to the position of a god or personify as a god

to accord divine honour or worship to

to exalt in an extreme way; idealize

Derived Formsdeifier, noun

Word Origin for deify

C14: from Old French deifier, from Late Latin deificāre, from Latin deus god + facere to make

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

Word Origin and History for deified

deify

mid-14c., from Old French deifier (13c.), from Late Latin deificare, from deificus "making godlike," from Latin deus "god" (see Zeus) + -ficare, from facere "to make, do" (see factitious). Related: Deified; deifying.