1
as in to adore
to love or admire too much
it's ridiculous how she adulates that airheaded rock star
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to congratulate
to praise too much
a business executive who unwisely surrounds herself with incompetent assistants who spend all their time adulating her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of adulate
Turkey’s TB2s became adulated in Ukraine for striking Russian tanks advancing on Kyiv at the start of that war in early 2022.
—
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulate
Verb
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League handlers gave Heidenreich a chance to walk through the crowd and dap up the adoring fans.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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This affectionate boy adores people, thrives on human attention and will happily lean in for pets, snuggles or just to be close.—
Maryanne Dell,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Villa Park assistant coach Ted Lawton raced to congratulate Urbanski while the Spartans’ players swarmed Noriega.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
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After Biles qualified for her third Olympic Games, Owens congratulated his wife with a kiss while holding a cutout of her face.—
Diane J. Cho,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and in 1977, the state built an obelisk on the church’s grounds to honor Benjamin Banneker, a naturalist and mathematician who reportedly worshipped at the church during the early 1800s.—
Lily Carey,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Apr. 2026
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Takaichi notably did not worship at Yasukuni personally, instead sending her offerings through an intermediary.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Beal praised the work ethic of both Nixon and Montgomery.—
Matt Murschel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Apr. 2026
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The actor also praised William Shatner for having previously taken to social media to share his blessing for Wesley portraying the same character that Shatner originated in the initial series.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His mom likes another young lady for her son, not my daughter.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Knicks head coach Mike Brown likes to carry an iPad with him.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Was any draft decision of this team’s past quarter-century applauded more than Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert?—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The audience laughed and applauded.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The city did not take the court up on that suggestion and should be commended for adhering to its transparency policies in a case that reflects so poorly on the Chicago Police Department.—
Jamie Kalven,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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While the president commended Secret Service actions, the event still raised questions about presidential protection and security around major events like America 250.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The result is sometimes overpraising, overprotection, and overindulging children, mixing emotional intensity with economic privilege in ways that breed entitlement.—
Christine Michel Carter,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Know-nothings pretend that Schrader’s Bressonian mannerisms reveal the spiritual depths of contemporary crisis, when, in fact, Master Gardener repeats the same social-collapse paranoia that made secular reviewers overpraise the religious, racial, suicide-bomber topics of First Reformed.—
Armond White,
National Review,
24 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Adulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulate. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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