Venerate comes from the Latin root venerārī, which has the various meanings of "to solicit the good will of," "to worship," "to pay homage to," and "to hold in awe." That root is related to Venus, which, as a proper noun, is the name of the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.
a professor revered by her students
reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring.
reverenced the academy's code of honor
venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.
heroes still venerated
worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.
worships their memory
adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.
we adored our doctor
Example Sentences
a writer venerated by generations of admirers She is venerated as a saint.
Recent Examples on the WebBroadly speaking, memetic politics — and particularly memes designed to venerate a single person — is an awkward proposition to begin with, and one at which conservatives have proven themselves more adept over the past few years. Rafi Schwartz, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2022 John Adams knew which day Americans would venerate. Jack N. Rakove, WSJ, 1 July 2022 Zakrajsek’s patriotic stance is commonplace in nations that venerate the military.Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2022 The easiest way to venerate ancestors is simple: put a photo of the deceased beside a glass of water and a white candle, and talk to them or recite their favourite prayers. Yvette Montoya, refinery29.com, 1 Nov. 2021 Smith also proved to be deeply controversial among conservative legal scholars who typically venerate Scalia. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 17 June 2021 Holding the remains violates the constitutional right to freedom of religion, because the Okinawans don’t have the opportunity to venerate their ancestors, says Yasukatsu Matsushima, an economist at Ryukoku University who is one of the plaintiffs. Dennis Normile, Science | AAAS, 14 June 2021 That’s because Europeans venerate the freedom to risk one’s own life but not the freedom to endanger others. Daniel Duane, Outside Online, 18 May 2021 If the mob’s bewilderment over the great building before them is one dominant feature of the day — whether to trash it or venerate it — its bewilderment over the police is even greater. Alec Macgillis, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin venerātus, past participle of Latin venerārī "to solicit the good will of (a deity), worship, pay homage to, hold in awe," verbal derivative of vener-, venus "sexual desire, qualities exciting desire, charm, (as proper noun) goddess personifying sexual attractiveness" (probably originally in cognate accusative phrase Venerem venerārī "to propitiate Venus," extended to other deities) — more at venus