mythologizes
Turns into legend
Mythologizes means to turn something into myth or treat it as legendary.
A culture mythologizes its founders, transforming flawed historical figures into larger-than-life heroes: The film mythologizes the Old West.
The word often carries a note of skepticism—suggesting embellishment or distortion of facts in service of a grander narrative.
Recounting events aloud
- mythmakerInventor of legends
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- bardPoet of epics
- narratorOne who tells events
epic · saga · allegory · parable · oral-history · fable · recount · retell
Portray as more appealing
- idealizeRegard as flawless
- glorifyPraise to excess
- exaggerateOverstate beyond truth
- embellishAdd decorative elements
dramatize · hyperbolize · fictionalize · fantasize · aggrandize · overstate · inflate · magnify
Traditional knowledge transmitted orally
Understand in another way
- reimagineEnvision in altered form
- reviseAlter to improve
- transformChange completely in form
- recastReform or reassign roles
reshape · reconstruct · reinvent · rework · transfigure · reconceive · reconfigure · historicize
Worship as sacred
- immortalizeMake lastingly famous
- apotheosizeMake into a god
- lionizeTreat as famous
- canonizeFormally declare sainthood
enshrine · venerate · hero-worship · idolize · sanctify · hallow · revere · adulate
storytelling
Recounting events aloud
narrator · epic · saga · allegory · parable · oral-history · fable · recount · retell · spin
romanticize
Portray as more appealing
- idealizeRegard as flawless
- glorifyPraise to excess
- exaggerateOverstate beyond truth
embellish · dramatize · hyperbolize · fictionalize · fantasize · aggrandize · overstate · inflate · magnify · gild
lore
Traditional knowledge transmitted orally
reinterpret
Understand in another way
recast · reshape · reconstruct · reinvent · rework · transfigure · reconceive · reconfigure · historicize
deify
Worship as sacred
- immortalizeMake lastingly famous
- apotheosizeMake into a god
- lionizeTreat as famous
canonize · enshrine · venerate · hero-worship · idolize · sanctify · hallow · revere · adulate · aggrandize
mythologizesdocuments
Formal written records
records · reports · historicizes · verifies · fact-checks
mythologizesdebunks
Exposes as untrue
exposes · deflates · deglamorizes · humanizes · criticizes
mythologizesdemystifies
Makes understandable
deconstructs · analyzes · dissects · lays bare · historicizes
mythologize, mythologized, mythologizing, mythologization, demythologize