noun
-
the worship of idols
-
great devotion or reverence
Usage
What does idolatry mean? Idolatry is the worship of an idol or idols—objects or images, such as statues, that are worshipped as the representations of deities or gods.The word idol can also refer to the deity or god that is being worshipped.Idolatry is sometimes called idol worship and the people who worship idols can be called idolaters. The adjective idolatrous can be used to describe idolaters or their practices.This sense of idolatry and its related terms are typically used in a negative, judgmental way, implying that the god that the idol represents is not actually real and that such idolatry is wrong or sinful. In this way, an idol is sometimes called a false idol.A well-known example of idolatry mentioned in a story in the Bible involves a statue of a golden calf that the Israelites were said to have made while Moses was away receiving the Ten Commandments (which prohibit idolatry and the worship of “graven images”).Sometimes, idol is used in a metaphorical way to compare something to an object of religious devotion and worship, and such devotion can also be called idolatry, as in The endless pursuit of wealth is a form of idolatry. This sense of the word is also used in a critical way.Idol is also commonly used in a figurative way to refer to a person, especially a famous celebrity such as a pop singer, whom someone treats with extreme admiration and devotion. The word sometimes implies that such devotion is excessive, likening it to religious worship. The word idolatry can be used to refer to this kind of fandom, but it is much more commonly used in a religious context.Example: Most people don’t bow down before statues, but they engage in other forms of idolatry, like an obsession with material possessions.
Other Word Forms
- idolater noun
- idolatress noun
- idolatrous adjective
- idolatrously adverb
- idolatrousness noun
- self-idolatry noun
Etymology
Origin of idolatry
1200–50; Middle English idolatrie < Medieval Latin īdōlatrīa, by haplology from Late Latin īdōlolatrīa Greek (NT) eidōlolatreía. See idol, -latry
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.
He then issued a religious edict, or fatwa, that allowed image-making and the depiction of living beings for scientific and educational purposes, so long as it did not lead to idolatry.
From New York Times
Muslims consider images of the prophet to be sacrilegious and encouraging of idolatry.
From Washington Times
Anyone speaking of Kissinger’s sincerity will forgive me if I do not indulge in such idolatry.
From Salon
Rand isn’t a character but the object of undue idolatry for Anna, a 39-year-old writer whose own “satire of the opioid epidemic” has just been called “classist” by the New York Times.
From Los Angeles Times
The Israeli government expressed alarm over the defacement, which officials also attributed to Jewish iconoclasm in obedience to early prohibitions against idolatry.
From Seattle Times
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.
