apotheosis
noun
ˌa-pə-ˈthē-ə-səs
Sam TanenhausDavid Leavin
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Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes thought fitting to grant someone "god" status. Hence the word apothéōsis, from the verb apotheóō or apotheoûn, meaning "to deify." (All are rooted in Greek theós, meaning "god," which we can also thank for such religion-related terms as theology and atheism.). There's not a lot of literal apotheosizing to be had in modern English, but apotheosis is thriving in the 21st century. It can refer to the highest or best part of something, as in "the celebration reaches its apotheosis in an elaborate feast," or to a perfect example or ultimate form, as in "a movie that is the apotheosis of the sci-fi genre."
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Examples of apotheosis in a Sentence
Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
As a matter of technique, the artist’s SECONDARY then represents a kind of apotheosis of such an approach, magnified here in evocative superimpositions.
—Tim Griffin, Artforum, 1 May 2022
But Figes clearly sees Stalinism as the apotheosis of the Soviet regime.
—Keith Gessen, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014
In that sense, the Passwords app is the apotheosis of everything Apple has been doing over the last decade to make passwords less of a pain for normal people who just don't want to think about them.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Apotheosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apotheosis. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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