adulate means to flatter effusively. It carries an Arena rating of 1665, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, adulate ranks #2,279 of 13,217 for Most Elegant Words, #2,997 of 13,217 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,255 of 13,217 for Most Incisive Words, #4,460 of 13,217 for Most Ingenious Words.
adulate is pronounced /ˈæ.d͡ʒə.leɪt/.
Why “adulate” is a great word
To flatter or admire someone excessively or slavishly. A learned borrowing from Latin *adūlārī*, meaning 'to flatter or fawn upon'. Unlike 'commend,' which suggests measured, sincere praise for specific merits, or 'fawn,' which implies servility performed through cringing gestures, to adulate is to offer a verbal tribute so inflated it approaches an act of worship. It is the roar of a crowd that seeks to canonize, the breathless biography that glosses over every flaw, the curated public image that replaces the human with the icon—a form of flattery so total it becomes a kind of erasure.
Etymology
A learned borrowing from Latin adūlor.
verb
- To flatter effusively.
Words closest in meaning
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