pedestaling
Putting on high
Pedestaling is the act of placing someone on a pedestal—idealizing them to the point of worship or uncritical admiration.
The term appears most often in relationship contexts, where one person elevates another beyond realistic assessment: Stop pedestaling her; she's human like everyone else.
The behavior often backfires, creating unhealthy dynamics or inevitable disappointment when the idealized person reveals ordinary flaws.
Lifting or nurturing
Uncritical excessive admiration
- idealizationRegarding as perfect
- deificationElevation to divine status
- apotheosisPeak or deification
- glorificationElevating praise or worship
worship · veneration · reverence · fandom · devotion · infatuation · obsession · mythologizing
Judging something too high
- overratingValuing beyond merit
- inflationSustained price level increase
- hypingPromoting with exaggeration
- overpraiseCommend beyond merit
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
misrepresentation · fantasy · projection · illusion · delusion · whitewashing
Preferential treatment of some
- partialityUnfair favor toward some
- inequityUnfair distribution or treatment
- unfairnessUnjust or biased treatment
- one-sidednessImbalanced viewpoint or treatment
raising
Lifting or nurturing
elevating · aggrandizing · untouchability · unapproachability
hero-worship
Uncritical excessive admiration
- idealizationRegarding as perfect
- deificationElevation to divine status
- apotheosisPeak or deification
glorification · worship · veneration · reverence · fandom · devotion · infatuation · obsession · mythologizing · sanctification
overestimation
Judging something too high
- overratingValuing beyond merit
- inflationSustained price level increase
- hypingPromoting with exaggeration
hyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
- exaggerationOverstating beyond reality
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- embellishmentDecorative addition or exaggeration
magnification · misrepresentation · fantasy · projection · illusion · delusion · whitewashing
favoritism
Preferential treatment of some
- partialityUnfair favor toward some
- inequityUnfair distribution or treatment
- unfairnessUnjust or biased treatment
pedestalingdemeaning
Causing loss of respect
belittling · disparaging · denigrating · devaluing · looking down on
pedestalingdemonizing
Portraying as evil
villainizing · vilifying · tearing down · devaluing · disparaging