lionize

American  

[lahy-uh-nahyz] / ˈlaɪ əˌnaɪz /

especially British, lionise

verb (used with object)

lionized, lionizing

1. to treat (a person) as a celebrity.

   to lionize the visiting poet.

2. British. to visit or exhibit the objects of interest of (a place).

---

verb (used without object)

lionized, lionizing

1. to pursue celebrities or seek their company.

2. British. to visit the objects of interest of a place.

lionize British  

/ ˈlaɪəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to treat as or make into a celebrity

---

Other Word Forms

• lionization
  noun
• lionizer
  noun
• lionized
  adjective
• unlionized
  adjective

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!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lionize lionized lionizing

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

But I am not among your favorite legal commentators, and, as you've probably guessed from the title, I am not here to lionize Justice O'Connor.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023

Mr. Ostin’s unflagging support for artists led them to lionize him.

From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022

The free-handed miners of that town wanted nothing better than somebody or something to lionize.

From The Ifs of History by Chamberlin, Joseph Edgar

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

I know he wouldn’t have been lionized the way he is today.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025

But after the committee’s televised hearings were over, he was famous, demonized by some for the harshness of his attacks on Nixon but lionized as a hero by others.

From New York Times ● Jun. 28, 2023

And though it's clear to anyone with an ounce of logic that they are a pack of charlatans, they're lionized throughout the Empire not just as immortal, but as oracles and mind-readers.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

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

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

And as evangelicalism became a cultural force, it marked its difference from the wider culture by lionizing the family.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2019

They are with difficulty taught by the friend who is lionizing them to distinguish it from the University.

From Lectures and Essays by Smith, Goldwin

Related Words

• eulogize
• glorify
• idolize