pedestalization
Putting on high
Pedestalization is the act of putting someone on a pedestal—treating them as flawless, superior, or beyond criticism.
The term appears most often in discussions of romantic relationships, where one partner idealizes the other to an unhealthy degree: His pedestalization of her made a real partnership impossible.
The word carries an implicit warning: what gets put on a pedestal eventually falls off.
Profound admiring respect
- devotionDeep, loyal commitment
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- aweReverent fear and wonder
- admirationDeep respect felt
veneration · esteem · respect · fandom · fascination · lionization · tribute · homage
Extreme reverent admiration
- hero-worshipUncritical excessive admiration
- glorificationElevating praise or worship
- romanticizationPortraying as more appealing
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
projection · deification · mythologizing · exaltation · illusion · infatuation · perfectionism · overestimation
Claim beyond the facts
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
- inflationSustained price level increase
aggrandizement · overemphasis · dramatization · distortion · overvaluation · overselling · overrating · overestimation
Veneration of false gods
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- deityWorshipped supernatural being
- altarSacred ritual table
- shrineSacred devotional place
sanctification · canonization · sainthood · icon · relic · sacred · devotee · pilgrimage
Failure to satisfy expectations
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- anticlimaxDisappointing conclusion after buildup
- disenchantmentLoss of cherished belief
demystification · unmasking · sobering · comedown · humanizing · flawed · imperfection · toppled
reverence
Profound admiring respect
admiration · veneration · esteem · respect · fandom · fascination · lionization · tribute · homage · praise
idolization
Extreme reverent admiration
- hero-worshipUncritical excessive admiration
- glorificationElevating praise or worship
- romanticizationPortraying as more appealing
fantasy · projection · deification · mythologizing · exaltation · illusion · infatuation · perfectionism · overestimation · apotheosis
overstatement
Claim beyond the facts
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- magnificationDegree of visual enlargement
inflation · aggrandizement · overemphasis · dramatization · distortion · overvaluation · overselling · overrating · overestimation · embellishment
idolatry
Veneration of false gods
shrine · sanctification · canonization · sainthood · icon · relic · sacred · devotee · pilgrimage · offering
letdown
Failure to satisfy expectations
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- anticlimaxDisappointing conclusion after buildup
disenchantment · demystification · unmasking · sobering · comedown · humanizing · flawed · imperfection · toppled · dethroning
pedestalizationdemonization
Casting as evil
vilification · devaluation · disparagement · degradation · contempt
pedestalizationcondescension
Demeaning air of superiority
looking down on · dismissiveness · subjugation · domination · disregard
pedestalizationdegradation
Decline in condition
debasement · humiliation · diminishment · belittlement · leveling
stand, platform, pedestal, pedestals, pedestaled, pedestaling, pedestalize, pedestalized