venerate
Hold in awe
To venerate is to regard with deep respect and reverence, often bordering on worship.
The word typically applies to religious figures, ancestors, or cultural icons: Catholics venerate saints, The tradition venerates ancestors.
Venerate suggests formal, sustained reverence rather than casual admiration—you venerate a spiritual teacher, but merely admire a talented athlete.
Deeply respect and admire
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- adoreLove intensely
- sanctifyMake officially holy
- hallowTo make sacred
devotion · awe · piety · holiness · spirituality · godliness · prostration · kneeling
Canonized holy person
- relicPreserved ancient object
- iconPictorial screen symbol
- shrineSacred devotional place
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
altar · sanctuary · tabernacle · sacrament · canonization · martyr · blessed · holy
Revere to excess
- lionizeTreat as famous
- hero-worshipUncritical excessive admiration
- emulateCopy with aspiration
- adulatePraise to excess
cherish · treasure · respect · regard · deference · appreciation · prize · value
Offering of respect
- homageExpression of deep respect
- commemorateHonor the memory of
- memorializeHonor through lasting tribute
- celebrateHonor through festivity
dignify · enshrine · acclaim · salute · recognition · distinction · laurels · accolade
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- eldersSenior community members
- forebearsAncestral family members
- patriarchMale head of family
matriarch · ancestral · shrine · memorial · genealogy · heritage · legacy · offerings
Ceremonial set of actions
- customHabitual group practice
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
lore · observance · orthodoxy · cultural · time-honored · ancient · ceremonial · ritualistic
revere
Deeply respect and admire
hallow · devotion · awe · piety · holiness · spirituality · godliness · prostration · kneeling · supplication
saint
Canonized holy person
pilgrimage · altar · sanctuary · tabernacle · sacrament · canonization · martyr · blessed · holy · devotional
idolize
Revere to excess
- lionizeTreat as famous
- hero-worshipUncritical excessive admiration
- emulateCopy with aspiration
adulate · cherish · treasure · respect · regard · deference · appreciation · prize · value · esteemed
tribute
Offering of respect
- homageExpression of deep respect
- commemorateHonor the memory of
- memorializeHonor through lasting tribute
celebrate · dignify · enshrine · acclaim · salute · recognition · distinction · laurels · accolade · decorated
ancestry
Family line of descent
patriarch · matriarch · ancestral · shrine · memorial · genealogy · heritage · legacy · offerings · remembrance
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
heritage · lore · observance · orthodoxy · cultural · time-honored · ancient · ceremonial · ritualistic · traditional
- admirerespect, esteem, praise, honor, revere
- worshippraying, congregational prayer, adoration, praise God, evening prayer
- venerationrevere, glorify, exalt, worship, hallow
- worship verbspray, bless, anoint, baptize, consecrate
- celebrationcelebration, celebrate, party, festive, festivity
- deferencedeference, bow, curtsy, genuflect, kneeling
- ancestor venerationReligious devotion to lineage
venerable, venerated, veneration, venerating, venerates, venerations, venerableness