-olatry, -latry, -olater-, -later, -olatress, -latress, -olatria, -olatrous, -latrous

(Greek: worship; excessively, fanatically devoted to someone or something; “service paid to the gods”)

Yet, if he would, man cannot live all to this world. If not religious, he will be superstitious. If he worships not the true God, he will have his idols.

—Theodore Parker
idolatry
1. The worship of idols.
2. The worship of images that are not God.
3. Paying divine honors to images, statues, or natural objects as representations of deities.

Idolatry is the worship of idols by anyone who pays divine honors to images, statues, or representations of any thing made by hands; pagan worship including sacrifices of animals or humans.

Idolatry in which a priest is making a human sacrifice to idols.
Word Info image © Copyright, 2006.

idolism
The worship of idols.
idolist
A worshiper of idols.
idolization, idolisation (UK)
1. To worship blindly as a god; broadly applied, to love or admire someone, or something, to excess.
2. The act of idolizing, adoring, or worshiping; especially, to excess.
idolize (IGH duhl ighz") (verb), idolizes; idolized; idolizing
To feel great admiration or love for someone or something, often to excess: Gertrude idolized her favorite writer by buying every book that he had published during the twenty years he was an author.
To admire or regard with blind admiration and devotion.
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idolized
1. Regarded with deep or rapturous love; especially, as if for a god.
2. Someone who has been admired and respected very much; often too much.
idolographical
Descriptive writing about idols.
idolomancy (s) (noun) (no pl)
Divination with idols, figures, or images: The answers given by the utilization of idolomancy may come through dreams, by drawing lots, or anything else that believers may attribute to the power of such images.

idolomania
1. Zealous idolatry.
2. An abnormal interest in idols.
idolum, idolon
1. An appearance or image; a phantasm; a spectral image.
2. A mental image or idea.
infantolatry (s) (noun), infantolatries (pl)
Infant worship or the worship of a baby or babies: "Another term for infantolatry is babyolatry."
juvenolatry
The worship of or excessive devotion to youthfulness.
latria
1. The highest kind of worship, or that which is paid only to God.
2. In Roman Catholic language: The supreme worship which is due to God alone (distinguished from dulia [the inferior kind of veneration paid by Roman Catholics to saints and angels] and hyperdulia [superior dulia or veneration paid by Roman Catholics to the Virgin Mary]).
lexicographicolatry (s) (noun), lexicographicolatries (pl)
1. An excessive reverence or devotion to the authority of dictionaries.
2. Etymology: literally, "the worship of dictionaries" or an excessively strong feeling of respect and admiration for dictionaries.
lithoidolatry
The worship of rock-like formations.

Related religious-word units: church; dei-, div-; ecclesi-; fanati-; hiero-; idol-; theo-; zelo-.