mythologise

Thân thiện

The poet mythologised the king by describing him as having three sons.

Definition

Verb: 1. To transform into a myth; to make legendary or mythical: To take a person, event, or object and imbue it with the exaggerated, symbolic, or supernatural qualities characteristic of a myth. 2. To construct or relate a myth: To create or tell a story that follows the patterns and serves the functions of traditional mythology.

Usage

• This verb describes the process of giving something a mythic quality, often simplifying or exaggerating its reality.
• It can be used in both a neutral/descriptive sense and a critical sense, implying that the subject is being portrayed in an unrealistically heroic or idealized way.
• The spelling mythologize is also correct and more common in American English.

Examples

• Transforming into a myth:
  • "Popular culture has mythologised the life of the outlaw, turning a criminal into a romantic hero."
  • "Over time, the facts of the battle were mythologised into a tale of impossible courage against overwhelming odds."
• Constructing a myth:
  • "The ancient poet mythologised the origins of the city, claiming it was founded by a son of a god."
  • "The tribe's elders mythologise the natural world, seeing every mountain and river as the embodiment of a spirit."

Advanced Usage

• The passive voice is common: The subject is often the thing being turned into a myth (e.g., "The past is often mythologised").
• Reflexive use: Sometimes used reflexively, as in "He mythologised himself," meaning he created a legendary persona about himself.

Variants and Related Words

• Mythologize (v): The primary alternative spelling.
• Myth (n): A traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to explain a worldview; a widely held but false belief.
• Mythology (n): A collection of myths, or the study of myths.
• Mythological (adj): Relating to or existing in myths.
• Demythologise (v): To remove the mythical character from; to interpret a myth in a non-mythical way.

Synonyms

• Legendize: To make into a legend.
• Glorify: To represent as admirable, often excessively so.
• Idealize: To regard or represent as perfect or better than in reality.
• Romanticize: To make something seem more appealing or idealized than it really is.
• Apotheosize: To elevate to divine status; to deify.

Antonyms

• Demythologise: To strip of mythical qualities.
• Debunk: To expose the falseness of a myth or belief.
• Demystify: To make less mysterious or easier to understand.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• To become mythologised: Describes the process undergone by the subject (e.g., "The singer's early death caused him to become mythologised").
• The mythologising of history: A common phrase referring to the tendency to turn historical figures and events into simplified, symbolic narratives.

Học thuật

Verb

1. make into a myth
   • The Europeans have mythicized Rte. 66
2. construct a myth
   • The poet mythologized that the King had three sons

Từ đồng nghĩa

• mythologize
• mythicize
• mythicise