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.
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
It refuses to lionize Logan, but it's still a tough act to follow.
From Salon • May 22, 2023
They like the stories that either demonize or lionize these people.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2023
Glew himself, importantly, is never the target of the joke: the movie has too much affection for its subject to ridicule his eccentricities, even gently, preferring to lionize him instead.
From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2022
Two women tried to lionize him, and he ran away and played with the children.
From Lion and the Unicorn by Davis, Richard Harding
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.
