apotheosis
/əˌpɒθ.iːˈəʊ.sɪs/
apotheosis means the fact or action of becoming or making into a god; deification. It carries an Arena rating of 2014, earned across 79 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apotheosis ranks #12 of 40,262 for Qualifying, #329 of 17,111 for Most Sublime Words, #340 of 17,093 for Most Storied Words, #483 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
apotheosis is pronounced /əˌpɒθ.iːˈəʊ.sɪs/.
Why “apotheosis” is a great word
The ultimate glorification of a person, principle, or thing to a divine or supremely idealized state. From Late Latin apotheōsis, from Ancient Greek ἀποθέωσις (apothéōsis, "deification"), from ἀποθεόω (apotheóō, "to deify"), from ἀπό (apó, "from, away") + θεός (theós, "god"), a journey from mortal to immortal made explicit in the word’s very bones, and borrowed into English in the early 17th century. Unlike "deification," which denotes the specific, often ritualistic act of making someone a god, or "pinnacle," which marks a merely secular peak, "apotheosis" retains the sacred glow of transfiguration. It is the hero assumed into the clouds in a gilded effigy, the symphony hailed as the perfect expression of its form, and the revolutionary idea calcified into unquestionable doctrine—the quiet, incense-heavy moment when a mortal aspiration is received into a larger life, just out of reach.
noun
- The fact or action of becoming or making into a god; deification.
- Glorification, exaltation; crediting someone or something with extraordinary power or status.e.g.“The turn of the century saw the apotheosis of digital technology.”
- A glorified example or ideal; the apex or pinnacle (of a concept or belief).e.g.“In his despair he had nowhere to turn. It is the very apotheosis of the place and the time.”
- The best moment or highest point in the development of something, for example of a life or career; the apex, culmination, or climax (of a development).e.g.“The apotheosis of her career was her appointment as chairman.”
- Release from earthly life, ascension to heaven; death.e.g.“Bear thee grimly, demigod! Up from the spray of thy ocean-perishing — straight up, leaps thy apotheosis!”
- The latent entity that mediates between a person's psyche and their thoughts. The id, ego and superego in Freudian Psychology are examples of this.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.