lionize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to treat (a person) as a celebrity.
to lionize the visiting poet.
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British. to visit or exhibit the objects of interest of (a place).
verb (used without object)
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to pursue celebrities or seek their company.
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British. to visit the objects of interest of a place.
verb
Other Word Forms
- lionization noun
- lionized adjective
- lionizer noun
- unlionized adjective
Etymology
Origin of lionize
First recorded in 1800–10; lion + -ize ( def. )
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.
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
“There is a prevailing narrative in the public mind to sort of lionize certain weapons systems as having a defining impact on certain conflicts,” he said, but “the reality is often more complex.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 12, 2022
Russia loves to lionize its literary giants, but even the mighty Russian state could not open a museum in a shared apartment with other residents still ensconced in it.
From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2021
I believe they'd lionize Charley Chaplin if he'd let them, but I understand he's more exclusive than we are.
From Black Oxen by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn
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.
