pedestal

A position of great admiration, often treating someone as better or more perfect than they really are.

• Fans put him on a pedestal.
• She refuses to place any leader on a pedestal.
• The new biography knocked the hero off his pedestal.

How to use it: put someone on a pedestal (She puts her older brother on a pedestal.); knock someone off their pedestal (The scandal knocked the actor off his pedestal.)

Common phrases: on a pedestal, put on a pedestal

A raised base that supports a statue, vase, or similar object.

• The statue stands on a pedestal.
• They placed the vase on a marble pedestal.
• The museum displays each sculpture on a separate pedestal.

Similar words: base, stand, plinth

Common phrases: stone pedestal, on a pedestal, statue pedestal, marble pedestal

To place or support something on a raised base, or treat someone as worthy of great admiration.

• They pedestaled the statue in the garden.
• Each small sculpture was pedestaled above the floor.
• The poem pedestals its hero as a model of courage.

Similar words: raise, elevate

Common phrases: pedestal a statue, pedestal a sculpture, pedestal someone