deify
deify
Pronunciation
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) spelling for deify is /ˈdiːɪˌfaɪ/ or /ˈdeɪɪˌfaɪ/.
🔊 Syllable Breakdown
The word has three syllables: dei-i-fy.
First Syllable (/ˈdiːɪ/ or /ˈdeɪɪ/):
The primary stress is on this syllable.
Consonant: initial d sound (/d/).
Vowel: long e sound (/iː/) or a less common a sound like in day (/eɪ/) followed by a short i sound (/ɪ/).
Second Syllable: The sounds are usually merged into the first syllable's vowel sequence in common pronunciation (often represented as two separate vowels within the first syllable's IPA structure, or as two distinct syllables: /ˈdiː.ɪ.faɪ/).
Third Syllable (/faɪ/):
Consonant: f sound (/f/).
Vowel: the diphthong eye sound (/aɪ/).
Word Form Variations
The term deify is primarily used as a verb. The main conjugations and related word forms are:
Infinitive: to deify
Present Tense (Singular, 3rd Person): deifies
Present Participle / Gerund: deifying
Past Tense / Past Participle: deified
Noun Form: deification (the act of deifying)
Noun Form (Person/Thing): deifier (one who deifies)
Adjective Form: deified (exalted to divine status)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb: deify
To exalt to the rank of a god: To formally or ritually elevate a person, such as a ruler or hero, to divine status, often after death, as was common in some ancient cultures.
Synonyms: Apotheosize, Divinize, Enshrine, Hallow.
Antonyms: Debase, Demote, Denigrate, Desecrate.
To treat or worship someone or something as if they were a god: To show excessive, unconditional adoration or reverence for a person, object, or concept, often to an unhealthy or exaggerated degree.
Synonyms: Idolize, Adore, Worship, Glorify, Lionize.
Antonyms: Scorn, Detest, Vilify, Blaspheme, Disparage.
Noun: deification
The process or act of making someone or something a god: The official or cultural act of transforming a mortal into a deity.
Synonyms: Apotheosis, Glorification, Divinization.
Antonyms: Demotion, Degradation, Secularization.
Examples of Use
📰 Print and Online Media
Political Commentary (Newspaper): "The relentless media coverage threatens to deify the former president, cementing his image as an infallible figure for his most ardent supporters."
Cultural Criticism (Online Publication): "In a society obsessed with digital fame, we often quickly deify social media influencers, only to eagerly witness their eventual fall from grace." (Forbes, March 2024)
Historical Analysis (Book): "The Roman Senate voted to deify Julius Caesar after his assassination, recognizing his profound influence on the state by elevating him to the pantheon of gods." (From The Gods of Olympus and Rome, by J. Smith, 2023)
Review/Opinion Piece (Newspaper): "His fans didn't just admire the athlete; they practically deified him, turning every one of his public appearances into a religious pilgrimage." (The Guardian, June 2023)
🎭 Entertainment and Public Discourse
Film/TV Review: "Critics argue that the documentary goes too far in its reverence, engaging in the outright deification of its subject rather than offering a balanced portrait."
Music/Art Criticism: "The artist's intention was to critique modern consumerism—the way we deify brands and material possessions—through his use of pop-culture iconography."
General Public Discourse (Quoted): "It's important to remember that all leaders are human. When we start to deify political figures, we stop holding them accountable for their flaws."
Literary Reference (Book): "She had spent a lifetime trying to deify her father's memory, painstakingly editing out his failures and immortalizing only his successes." (From Shadows of the Past, by L. Chen, 2021)
Sports Coverage: "The local press has a tendency to deify the winning coach, treating him as a tactical genius whose decisions are beyond reproach." (ESPN Online, January 2024)
10 Famous Quotes Using Deify
"The masses have never thirsted after truth; they turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error." (Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind)
"They deify what crushes them and find reason to hope in what impoverishes them." (Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus)
"And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science." (Paul Harvey, "If I Were The Devil" speech)
"Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially deify." (Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods)
"Man was never meant to be a god, but he is forever trying to deify himself." (David Lloyd-Jones)
"How easy it is for all of us to deify the gifts God has given rather than the God who gave them!" (Diane Langberg)
"To insist on purity is to baptize instinct, to humanize art, and to deify personality." (Guillaume Apollinaire)
"Those views of life which deify pleasure are less likely to yield it." (Ernst, Baron von Feuchtersleben)
"The absurd effort to deify Mahatma Gandhi." (Jonas Ward, Yale Daily News)
"That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me, to bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee and deify his power." (John Milton, Paradise Lost)
Etymology
The word deify has roots that go back to ancient languages and essentially means "to make divine" or "to make a god."
Latin Origin: The word comes from the Late Latin verb deificare. This term itself is a combination of two older Latin words:
deus: meaning "god" or "deity."
facere: meaning "to make" or "to do."
So, literally, deificare means "to god-make."
Path to English: This Latin term passed into Old French as deifier, and then was adopted into Middle English around the 14th century (circa 1300–1350) as deifien.
First Known Use and Meaning:
The first known use in English, dating to the 14th century, carried the core meaning taken directly from its Latin root: "to make a god of" or "to exalt to the rank of a deity."
This initial meaning was often literal, referring to the practice in cultures like ancient Rome where emperors or great heroes might be formally declared gods after their death.
In short, when you see deify, you can think of it as a historical word that literally meant "to turn someone into a god," and that ancient definition is still the heart of its modern usage.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Deify
Phrases Using "Deify"
To deify a cult of personality: Used to describe the creation of an exaggerated, god-like image around a political or cultural leader.
To deify the past: To treat a previous era or historical period with exaggerated reverence and nostalgia, ignoring its flaws.
To deify financial success: To treat wealth and monetary achievement as the highest, most worship-worthy goal in life.
Idioms and Phrases Using Synonyms (For Similar Effect)
Put on a pedestal: (Synonym: Idolize, Deify) To treat someone with excessive, uncritical admiration.
Example: She made the mistake of putting her new manager on a pedestal.
Worship at the altar of (something): (Synonym: Adore, Deify) To show intense and total devotion to a non-religious object, concept, or person.
Example: Many people today worship at the altar of technology.
Hero-worship: (Synonym: Adore, Deify) To regard someone as a hero and worship them blindly and excessively.
Example: His hero-worship of the rock star blinded him to the man's real flaws.
Hold sacred: (Synonym: Venerate, Deify) To treat a principle, object, or tradition with the highest possible respect and reverence.
Example: They hold the original draft of the constitution sacred.
Blow smoke up (someone's) skirt/rear: (Synonym: Flatter excessively/Adulate) An informal, sometimes vulgar phrase meaning to give someone extreme, insincere praise.
Build a shrine to (someone/something): (Synonym: Adore, Deify) To show extreme and often obsessive reverence for someone or something.
Example: She might as well build a shrine to her favorite athlete, judging by all the memorabilia.
The deification of the self: (Original Phrase) A philosophical concept describing extreme narcissism or egoism where an individual views their own desires and existence as paramount and divine.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of deify from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
