Word of the Day Archive
Friday May 27, 2005
lionize \LY-uh-nyz\
, transitive verb:
To treat or regard as an object of great interest or importance.
At Penn State he'd been welcomed, nurtured, lionized as a track and field star who narrowly missed making our Olympic team in the decathlon
-- James Brady, Further Lane
But it is a good reason to be wary, and to pay some attention to that man behind the curtain -- or, if anyone tries to sell you one, to be cautious about lionizing "some pig" -- however terrific, radiant, and humble -- in a poke.
-- Marjorie B. Garber, Symptoms of Culture
But the urge to lionize him is an indication that we live in a terrible age for pianists. There is today almost no pianist worth crossing the street for.
-- Jay Nordlinger, "Curtain Calls", National Review, May 31, 1999
Lionize, comes from lion, in the sense of "a person of great interest or importance."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for lionize
