1
Core meaning
Excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
Example
The athlete remained uneasy with the public adulation.
adulation
/ˌædjʊˈleɪʃən/ · aj-uh-LAY-shunnoun
Excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
Use adulation to express this relationship precisely: excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
What adulation Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
Adulation can discourage honest criticism of a leader.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The biography balances praise with scrutiny rather than offering pure adulation.
Use adulation Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The athlete remained uneasy with the public adulation.
Adulation can discourage honest criticism of a leader.
The biography balances praise with scrutiny rather than offering pure adulation.
Precision Matters
Adulation overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
adulation
vs.Means excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
acclaim
Means enthusiastic and public praise.
adulation
vs.Means excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
extol
Means praise someone or something enthusiastically and publicly.
adulation
vs.Means excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
disdain
Means a feeling that someone or something is unworthy of respect; scorn or contempt.
adulation
vs.Means excessive admiration, praise, or public devotion directed toward someone.
censure
Means strong formal criticism or official disapproval.
Test adulation in Context
The singer receives unusually excessive admiration and praise.
1
The singer's sudden fame brought intense public ___ as well as constant attention.