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).

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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

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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

Decades of lionizing men like Nile Jarvis have made his detestable personality not just easy to spot, but queasily appealing.

From Salon

Wakanda is mythical, but it lacks the problematic history rewrite required to make the forthcoming Viola Davis-starring “The Woman King” and its lionizing of a kingdom built on the slave trade palatable.

From Salon

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

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

From Los Angeles Times

A closer listen shows she isn’t lionizing 18th Street or Florencia 13.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• eulogize
• glorify
• idolize