Definition

1. Verb:
   • To treat someone as a celebrity or a person of great importance: To give someone a lot of public attention and praise, often in a way that makes them seem like a famous or heroic figure.

Usage

The verb "lionise" (also spelled "lionize" in American English) is used to describe the act of treating a person with excessive admiration and public attention. It often implies that the person is being celebrated as a star or a hero. It is a transitive verb, meaning it requires a direct object (the person being lionised).

Examples

• Verb:
  • After winning the championship, the young athlete was lionised by the entire nation.
  • The author was lionised at the literary festival, with fans queuing for hours to get her signature.
  • He disliked being lionised by the press and preferred a quiet, private life.

Advanced Usage

• Passive Voice: "Lionise" is very commonly used in the passive voice (e.g., , ) to emphasize the action being done to the subject.
  • The scientist was lionised for her groundbreaking discovery.
• Contexts: The word is frequently used in contexts involving fame, media, arts, sports, and public life, where individuals are elevated to a celebrity status.

Variants and Related Words

• Lionization (noun, chiefly British: lionisation): The act of lionising someone.
  • The constant lionization of celebrities can be overwhelming.
• Lionizer (noun): A person who lionises others.
  • The journalist was known as a lionizer of up-and-coming artists.

Synonyms

• Celebrate: To honor or praise someone publicly.
• Glorify: To represent or describe as admirable, especially unjustifiably.
• Idolize: To admire, revere, or love greatly or excessively.
• Fête: To honor or entertain (someone) lavishly.

Antonyms

• Ignore: To refuse to take notice of or acknowledge.
• Criticize: To indicate the faults of someone or something in a disapproving way.
• Vilify: To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To be treated like royalty: To be given extremely special or deferential treatment. (This idiom conveys a similar idea of excessive admiration but is less formal than "lionise".)
  • When she visits her hometown, she is treated like royalty.

Verb

1. assign great social importance to
   • The film director was celebrated all over Hollywood
   • The tenor was lionized in Vienna