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  • hero worship
    hero worship
    noun
    a profound reverence for great people or their memory.
  • hero-worship
    hero-worship
    verb (used with object)
    to feel or express hero worship for.
Synonyms

hero worship

1 American  

noun

  1. a profound reverence for great people or their memory.

  2. extravagant or excessive admiration for a personal hero.

hero-worship 2 American  
[heer-oh-wur-ship] / ˈhɪər oʊˌwɜr ʃɪp /

verb (used with object)

hero-worshiped, hero-worshiping, hero-worshipped, hero-worshipping

  1. to feel or express hero worship for.

hero worship British  

noun

  1. admiration for heroes or idealized persons

  2. worship by the ancient Greeks and Romans of heroes

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to feel admiration or adulation for

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of hero worship1

First recorded in 1765–75

Origin of hero-worship2

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

Instead, “Him” wonders what kind of spiritual practice it is: hero worship or a sinister cult?

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025

The Emergency was also a stark warning against the perils of hero worship - something embodied in the towering political persona of Indira Gandhi.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025

Viewers are no longer interested in the patriotic, individualistic hero worship à la Captain America.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2023

Not everyone fell for the von Braun hero worship, however, including several prominent Jewish comedians.

From Slate • Aug. 1, 2023

They help us to peel back some of the layers of legend and hero worship that obscure the whole story of American history.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

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.