Make Your Point > Archived Issues > APOTHEOSIS

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pronounce APOTHEOSIS: Say it "uh POTH ee YO sis." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: If you deify or apotheosize people, you treat them as if they're gods. And if you personify or anth____m____ize things, you treat them as if they're human. And if you __ify abstract things, you treat them as if they're real or concrete. Can you come up with those words with the blanks? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  definition: The Greek bits inside "apotheosis" mean "(to) change (into a) god." (Apo- has many meanings; here it means "change." And theos means "god.") In English, an apotheosis is the act of giving someone or something godlike status. Much more loosely, if you call someone or something the apotheosis of something, you mean it's the glorious god of it, or it's the part of it that has risen to the highest and most heavenly heights: it's the best, highest, and most perfect part or example of it. Occasionally, we use "apotheosis" to mean "the elevation of a soul into Heaven," especially as shown in artwork. For example, here's a painting titled "Apotheosis of Napoleon III." grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, both the countable kind ("They're the apotheosis of rock and roll") and the uncountable kind ("They've achieved apotheosis"). Other forms:  The plural is "apotheoses." The adjective is "apotheotic," pronounced "uh POTH ee YOT ick." The verb is "apotheosize," pronounced "uh POTH ee uh size." It means "to lift to godlike status," or more simply "to glorify, to worship, to treat like a god." Here's an example: "[Dante's] sonnets wherein he apotheosized Beatrice" (Elbert Hubbard). The other forms are "apotheosized" and "apotheosizing." how to use it: "Apotheosis" is a serious, sophisticated word. Despite being semi-common in print, it's rarely spoken out loud: it belongs in formal writing. With its religious flavor, it's great for exaggeration, especially when you're writing about art, film, dance, music, or poetry. You might write about someone or something approaching or reaching its apotheosis: "They lifted the movement to its apotheosis this year." Or, you might refer to someone or something as the apotheosis of something: "She's the apotheosis of imagism in poetry;" "HBO's Togetherness is the apotheosis of hipster family awfulness" (Buzzfeed). examples: "[This classic video of a performance] is an apotheosis of this city's musical culture, and Friday's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra concert at Symphony Space, celebrating the Gonzalezes, felt much the same."    — Ben Ratliff, New York Times, 17 October 2011 "[The album 'Lysol' by the Melvins] was a huge influence on sludge, doom and drone to follow, but none of its many imitators ever split eardrums the way the Melvins split eardrums. This, right here, is the apotheosis of heavy."    — Noah Berlatsky, Salon, 10 May 2014 has this page helped you understand "apotheosis"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain both meanings of "apotheosis" without saying "godlike peak" or "godlike status."  try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Something) has been (praised or scorned) by critics as the apotheosis of (some trend or movement, or some wonderful or terrible quality)." Example 1: "'The Waste Land' has been praised by critics as the apotheosis of modernism." Example 2: "Although the ballets became a craze, 'The Rite of Spring' in 1913 was scorned by critics as the apotheosis of ugliness."    — Suzy Menkes, New York Times, 11 October 2010 If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for August is "Heard it in Hamilton." Check out a snippet of lyrics from Hamilton: An American Musical, and see if you can come up with the missing word. You can check your answer by scrolling all the way down.  Try this one today: HAMILTON:    These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder    every burden, every disadvantage    I have learned to manage, I don't have a gun to ________,    I walk these streets famished. Definition of the missing word: "hold up in the air and wave around, often because you want people to feel threatened." Number of syllables: 2. review this word: 1. Near opposites of APOTHEOSIZE include A. SHUN, REPUDIATE, and GAINSAY. B. BULK, STRENGTHEN, and FORTIFY. C. HONOR, AGGRANDIZE, and ACTUALIZE. 2. Reviewing a performance in the Guardian, Judith Mackreel wrote: "As [the dancer] finally climbs a ladder skywards, it is as though an apotheosis beckons. And when the snow starts to fall, it feels like _____." A. a cocoon B. a benediction C. a spell being cast Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. B Answer to the game question: brandish. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.