Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An image used as an object of worship.
- noun A false god.
- noun One that is adored, often blindly or excessively.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An image, effigy, figure, or likeness of anything.
- noun An image or similitude of a divinity; a representation or symbol of a deity made, consecrated, or used as an object of worship.
- noun Hence — A person on whom or a thing on which the affections are strongly set; any object of absorbing devotion other than God himself.
- noun A phantom or figment of the brain; a false or misleading notion or conception; an erroneous persuasion; a fallacy. See
idolon . - noun Bacon divided the fallacies or misconceptions that beset mankind into four classes:
- noun idols of the tribe (idola tribus), fallacies incident to humanity in general;
- noun idols of the den (idola specus), misapprehensions traceable to the peculiar mental or bodily constitution of the individual;
- noun idols of the market-place (idola fori), errors due to the influence of mere words or phrases;
- noun idols of the theatre (idola theatri), errors due to the prevalence of imperfect philosophic systems or misleading methods of demonstration.
- To worship; make an idol of; idolize.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete An image or representation of anything.
- noun An image of a divinity; a representation or symbol of a deity or any other being or thing, made or used as an object of worship; a similitude of a false god.
- noun That on which the affections are strongly (often excessively) set; an object of passionate devotion; a person or thing greatly loved or adored.
- noun A false notion or conception; a fallacy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A graven
image orrepresentation of anything that isrevered , or believed to convey spiritual power. - noun A cultural
icon , or especially popularperson .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept
- noun someone who is adored blindly and excessively
- noun a material effigy that is worshipped
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Attention is called to the difficulty of drawing the line between a doll and an idol among primitive peoples, the connection of dolls with religion, psychological evidence of which lingers with us to-day in the persistent folk-etymology which connects _doll_ with _idol_.
The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day Alexander F. Chamberlain
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And disgrace – whoever you are … your idol is a nasty bitter man.
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CHOI: I think this is what they call idol chit chat, don't you?
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They are wholly void both of sense and reason, lifeless and speechless (the idol is a dumb idol, a dumb stone, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it), so that the most minute animal, that has but breath and motion, is more excellent then they.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) 1721
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The word 'idol' comes from the Greek and means 'image,' 'figure,' 'representation,' but also 'ghost,' 'phantom,' 'vain appearance.'
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The word 'idol' comes from the Greek and means 'image,' 'figure,' 'representation,' but also 'ghost,' 'phantom,' 'vain appearance.'
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The congregation will not, however, admit that its idol is mere clay.
Law 2010
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NaOnka, with her now-legendary charm, told us: The immunity idol is mine!
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Acme Blindfolds & Blindsides. Tallulah Morehead 2010
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NaOnka, with her now-legendary charm, told us: The immunity idol is mine!
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Acme Blindfolds & Blindsides. Tallulah Morehead 2010
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The congregation will not, however, admit that its idol is mere clay.
Stromata Blog 2010
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