venerate means to treat with great respect and deference. It carries an Arena rating of 1927, earned across 45 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, venerate ranks #1,155 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,232 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,935 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #3,952 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
venerate is pronounced /ˈvɛnəɹeɪt/.
Why “venerate” is a great word
VENERATE — [Verb] To regard or treat with profound respect and reverence, often in a religious or solemn context. From Latin venerātus, past participle of venerārī ('to worship, revere, solicit the goodwill of'), first attested in English in 1623. Unlike "revere" (which implies a deep, internal feeling of awe) or "worship" (which denotes adoration reserved for a deity), "venerate" is the formal, ceremonial act of making that feeling manifest. It is the hand laid upon the cold marble of a tomb; the precise lighting of a candle smelling of dust and beeswax; the careful preservation of a yellowed letter—a physical testament to the human need to touch what time is erasing.
Etymology
First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin venerātus, perfect active participle of veneror (“to worship, venerate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
verb
- To treat with great respect and deference.
- To revere or hold in awe.e.g.“[…] we cannot but venerate in Johnson one of the most exercised minds that our holy religion hath ever formed.” — 1791, James Boswell, “[1756]”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 168:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.