angelize

/ˈeɪnd͡ʒəlaɪz/

Etymology

From angel + -ize.

angelize means to raise to the state of an angel; to render angelic. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ANGELIZE — [Verb] To raise to the state of an angel; to render angelic. From angel (a celestial being) + the English verbal suffix -ize (meaning "to make, render, or become"). Unlike "humanize," which grounds a subject in compassionate frailty, or "demonize," which degrades it into malevolence, to angelize is a projection of impossible perfection, a gentle violence that strips away the mortal. It is the gilding of a worn photograph until the subject’s pores vanish into light, the biographer airbrushing petty cruelties into saintly patience, or the way afternoon sun through a dusty window can halo the most ordinary head. We angelize to forgive the dead their humanity, and to bear the living weight of our own.

verb

To raise to the state of an angel; to render angelic.“W. Taylor It ought not to be our object to angelize, nor to brutalize, but to humanize man.”