Definition of ADULATION (original) (raw)
: extreme or excessive admiration or flattery
Celebrities often feed off the adulation of fans, but that acclaim can be fleeting and illusory.—
Ruben Castenada
During the campaign, he basked in the adulation of his fans and emphasized the promises that drew the biggest applause and the most retweets …—Peter Coy
… she thought he'd be an egomaniac, spoiled by fame and public adulation.—Maureen Callahan
… is only starting to reach the level of popular and critical adulation that bands work their entire lives to achieve …—Steve Kandell
He had not fully understood his achievement until he returned home to an outpouring of adulation from local media.—David Müller
adulate
transitive verb
adulated; adulating; adulates
Did you know?
If adulation makes you think of a dog panting after its beloved person, you're on the right etymological track; the word ultimately comes from the Latin verb adūlārī, meaning "to fawn on" (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or "to praise insincerely." Adulation has been in use in English since the 15th century. The verb adulate, noun adulator, and adjective adulatory later followed dutifully behind.
Synonyms
Examples of adulation in a Sentence
The rugby player enjoyed the adulation of his fans. a writer who inspires adulation in her readers
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
No amount of money, power, or adulation could ever satisfy Greeks suffering from pleonexia. —David Lay Williams, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024 For most of his career, however, Mr. Stella rode a wave of adulation and stupendous commercial success, buoyed by dozens of one-man shows and retrospectives at museums around the world. —William Grimes, New York Times, 4 May 2024 All the adulation that comes to a successful CEO can create that illusion but Walt’s nephew Roy disagreed and in the end, so did shareholders. —Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2024 If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, covering your imitators is a whole other level of adulation. —Leena Tailor, SPIN, 18 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for adulation 
Word History
Etymology
Middle English adulacioun "insincere praise, flattery," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin adūlātiōn-, adūlātiō, from adūlārī "to fawn upon (of dogs), praise insincerely" (of uncertain origin) + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action
Note: On the presumption that it is a denominal verb, Latin adūlārī has been compared with Sanskrit vāla-, vāra- "hair of a horse's tail, horsehair," Lithuanian valaĩ "horse's tail," though this is difficult both semantically and phonetically. More recently, the base of Latin avidus "greedy, eager" has been proposed as a source (see avid), via a prefixed *ad-awido-, syncopated to *ad-audo-, then with the second d dissimilated to l, yielding *adūlo-, "eagerly seeking something, flattering."
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of adulation was in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near adulation
Cite this Entry
“Adulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adulation. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 3 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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