adulation

noun

ˌa-jə-ˈlā-shən How to pronounce adulation (audio)
Definition of adulationnext
1
as in adoration
excessive admiration of or devotion to a person the pathetic adulation of the leader of the cult by her misguided followers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in praise
excessive praise more objective critics have observed that the artist never deserved the adulation heaped upon her mediocre paintings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adulation The people standing included A-list Hollywood stars and world leaders, all giving the Prince and Princess of Wales a very public show of respect and adulation. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 13 July 2026 Each member derives her own realizations from this experience, with its dual crucibles of grindingly hard work and pop adulation. — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 25 June 2026 Trump seemed to enjoy the adulation. — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 15 June 2026 In a way that no championship trophy ever could, Kirby Smart has an opportunity to take action that would bring him undying respect and adulation. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for adulation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulation
  1. adoration
  2. praise
  3. worship
  4. acclaim
  5. worshipping
  6. flattery
Noun
  • His face appearing on the big screen was naturally greeted by cheers of adoration from the stands and would normally have been a pure reason to smile.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The filmmaker was showered with love and adoration by appreciative fans.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of adoration
Noun
  • The two governors, who mended fences after clashing over last year’s Proposition 50 redistricting campaign, lavished praise on each other for their climate bona fides.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Schwarzenegger and Newsom piled praise upon each other during the Wednesday afternoon discussion, hugging at the end.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of praise
Noun
  • Their style of worship and theological teachings provided concrete tools, including practices such as prayer, fasting and sharing personal testimony, that relieved migrants’ suffering.
    — Johanna Bard Richlin, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies, places of worship and other sensitive locations, especially when it gets combined with advertising identifiers and other information about you.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of worship
Noun
  • In 2021, Leoni launched her own label, Quira, which quickly gained critical acclaim and became a 2023 LVMH Prize finalist.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Rather than accept his acclaim, a boozy Lee gets on stage and immediately tears into the crowd for being sellouts.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of acclaim
Noun
  • They may have been kept open throughout the year for rituals commemorating important dates and festivals, as well as the worshipping of the dead.
    — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
  • This, too, is a marvel of the modern Jewish state – the unusual multitasking of commuting and worshipping.
    — Ben Corn, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of worshipping
Noun
  • Manipulation, escalation, flattery and vindictiveness are not the unavoidable price of sounding natural.
    — Puneet Gaur, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Tom Cruise's recent effusive praise for Kate Middleton was not just Hollywood flattery, according to royal experts.
    — Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of flattery

Browse Nearby Words

adulating
adulation
adulations
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Adulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulation. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All