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
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!"
Vocabulary lists containing lionize
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "K" "L""M" and "N" and "O"
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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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.
See Examples For:
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
His character — only referred to as Nitram, so as not to lionize the actual shooter, who remains in prison — plods through the movie like an intimidatingly oversized child.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
The library says it will humanize Roosevelt, not lionize him.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2022
Friday, 3rd.—John had a letter to the pork-killing man, Mr. Armour, and he kindly sent two carriages for us, with an assistant, who was to lionize us about.
From The British Association's Visit to Montreal, 1884 : letters by Clara Rayleigh
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
In death, however, Carter is being lionized by Republican leaders as well as Democrats upon his return to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda before his state funeral Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
The alleged villains in the trial are former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch, who once was lionized as shining example of British ingenuity, and Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice president of finance.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2024
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
Stop lionizing him and his ilk, and instead cover people who are responding productively.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
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
You know I hate all this sort of thing, and, as far as I can see, it's just a repetition of the usual performance—stale speeches, lionizing, gossip, and weak tea.
From A Monk of Cruta by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
