How to Use hagiography in a Sentence

hagiography

noun
  • The book gives a good idea of his virtues without resorting to hagiography.
  • The hagiographies omit some key details about how the wolf got along.
    — Steven Levy, WIRED, 16 Nov. 2020
  • But rarely does the film rise above hagiography.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
  • This is very much a warts-and-all portrait, not a hagiography.
    — The Economist, 8 Aug. 2019
  • To further the hagiography, the script flubs its own plot points.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Her subjects are just people on the day that will be their last; this is not hagiography.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2024
  • This is hagiography fit for an age that prefers its heroes to be relatable.
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Well, there goes my plan to write a hagiography of Sam Bankman-Fried.
    — Steven Levy, WIRED, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Agrelo steers clear of the straight-up hagiography that plagues so many docs framed as tributes to their subjects.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2021
  • When a revered man dies, the lines between hagiography and history are blurred.
    — Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 23 Feb. 2020
  • Straight-up hagiographies and hit jobs thankfully weren’t options.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The hagiography, which comes not just from Harris, is an obscene kissing of the ring.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 23 July 2024
  • The early hagiographies, the images etched into those cathedrals, still hold lessons for us today.
    — Matthew Gabriele, Time, 20 Apr. 2020
  • But more mature, sober-minded viewers may feel besieged by its non-stop hagiography.
    — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2018
  • Jackson’s feats in baseball and football are legendary, but this is no hagiography.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 3 June 2023
  • Renzi didn’t approach the project as hagiography.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 June 2026
  • But Burns and Botstein don’t give them the hagiography treatment.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Nov. 2025
  • To say that Melania is a hagiography would be an insult to hagiographies.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
  • In the world of celebrity documentaries, hagiographies reign supreme.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 June 2024
  • But for those who resist the temptation to put the book down there, what follows is not the hagiography the opening lines suggest.
    — Peter Baker, New York Times, 5 June 2018
  • The book is an unapologetic tribute to Churchill but not a hagiography.
    — Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2018
  • This hagiography played a central role in his rapid canonization.
    — Vanessa Corcoran, The Conversation, 2 Feb. 2026
  • For all of Farrell’s access to Kennedy’s circle, his book is no hagiography.
    — Jackie Calmes, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Oct. 2022
  • In hagiography, druids were the Irish and British version of pagan wizards.
    — Lisa Bitel, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2022
  • Post-demise, fans and culture writers secured its legacy quickly, with a bevy of hagiographies and oral histories.
    — WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
  • Against all odds, that gimmick works, distinguishing the project from so many other cookie-cutter pop-star hagiographies.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024
  • Party media have since amped up the hagiography, casting Xi as the father of the nation and the man uniquely equipped to lead.
    — Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2018
  • The resulting volume is a brisk, engaging read that avoids hagiography.
    — Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The trouble with chronicling genius is that, if not careful, the process can quickly veer into hagiography.
    — Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2020
  • The result is not hagiography, but a revealing glimpse inside the too-brief life of an artist as tormented as he was talented.
    — Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hagiography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: