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
• lionizer
  noun
• lionized
  adjective
• unlionized
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of lionize

First recorded in 1800–10; lion + -ize ( def. )

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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

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

Teams are insular, us-against-the-world micro-communities, and American culture tends to lionize those who close off the rest of the world, ignore criticism and win anyway.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 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

In that respect "Billions" continues to be useful – the more we understand men like Axe, the less inclined we are to lionize them.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2021

"I am afraid you are trying to lionize me," he jested.

From Nedra by George Barr McCutcheon

Stubborn, single-minded and tireless, lionized and controversial, the Los Angeles water boss was 72.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

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

The park, named by the late West Seattle philanthropist and park commissioner Ferdinand Schmitz for a precolonial Native American leader lionized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, has hardly been static.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2023

In his first days at home, Elisha found himself lionized in the papers as an American superhero, and in a serious fight with his family.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Los Angeles educators were also directed to immediately shift from lionizing Chávez to honoring instead the farmworkers’ movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026

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

From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025

Stop lionizing him and his ilk, and instead cover people who are responding productively.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022

Already she’s spent many episodes analyzing, and lionizing, the show’s newest cast member.

From New York Times ● Aug. 18, 2021

But the captain and the ship's doctor cut short any attempt at lionizing by rushing the midshipmen to a stateroom containing three berths.

From Dave Darrin's Second Year at Annapolis Or, Two Midshipmen as Naval Academy "Youngsters" by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

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Related Words

• eulogize
• glorify
• idolize

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