How to Use idolize in a Sentence

idolize

verb
  • The whole world loved him, idolized him.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Many of the players who have idolized her for years must now step up.
    — Emily Olsen, The Athletic, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Smith grew up idolizing him as a boy in Louisville.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
  • That’s why he was idolized by those who read him, listened to him, learned from him.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2024
  • As a young girl, Spears idolized the star—and wanted to be like her.
    — TIME, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Carter's younger brother idolized him.
    — Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 13 Feb. 2026
  • That’s part of the charm of idolizing one of the sport’s greatest ball movers.
    — James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Kacey was around the best teams, idolized the greatest players.
    — Chris Melchiorre, Philly.com, 5 May 2018
  • Because of her lies, my siblings idolize our mother and loathe him.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 24 Oct. 2021
  • May has two young daughters who, like many girls, idolize Murphy.
    — Anya Armentrout, Twin Cities, 16 June 2026
  • Payton idolized him and sometimes called him dad, Lorenz said.
    — Ruth Brown, idahostatesman, 22 June 2017
  • There have been more popular people, and more revered and idolized.
    — Joseph Goodman | [email protected], al, 27 Sep. 2019
  • Williams, soon to be 38, can still defeat the kids who grew up idolizing her.
    — Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2019
  • However, there are still very young children who idolize him.
    — Esteban Campanela, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
  • The character idolizes Goodall and her work.
    — Nick Caruso, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Young girls idolizing the sisters asked for autographs on hats and shirts.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 19 July 2024
  • At one point the most idolized of the lads, Styles has been mostly laying low since the band went on hiatus.
    — Richard Lawson, Vanities, 28 Mar. 2017
  • Bergman grew up idolizing the famed attorney.
    — Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 Nov. 2025
  • Putin hung onto the old system and idolized the strength of the Soviet state.
    — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 3 July 2017
  • His kids grew up idolizing their neighbor, while dad wooed him on behalf of the Cowboys.
    — Jenny Vrentas, The MMQB, 11 July 2017
  • All the bad issues in religion have come from idolizing the Bible.
    — Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 June 2017
  • Once, Maye idolized Cam Newton.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Aaron, an intelligent kid, idolized his dad and wanted to be just like him, Young said.
    — Jeong Park, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2023
  • Bruno idolizes his father and wants to become an illustrator like him.
    — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 25 May 2026
  • Olympians – athletes at the top of their sport and in prime health – are idolized and often viewed as superhuman.
    — Emily Hemendinger, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Merchant had long idolized Patti Smith.
    — Dan Kois, Pitchfork, 17 May 2026
  • While those players are adored and even idolized, the women’s team has been sidelined — just like in other countries around the world.
    — Debora Rey, The Seattle Times, 7 Nov. 2018
  • Fein had long idolized the legendary producer and creator of the Wall of Sound.
    — Paul Grein, Billboard, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Try as Republicans might to idolize him in gold, the man isn’t immortal, in any sense.
    — Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2021
  • It was capped by a few words from Andruw Jones, the player Jansen grew up idolizing.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023

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

Last Updated: