What does enthronize mean?
"Enthronize" is a relatively rare English verb meaning to place someone on a throne or to install them formally in high office, particularly in religious ceremonies where a monarch or bishop is invested with authority. It is essentially a variant of the far more common word "enthrone", built from the prefix "en-" (to put into) combined with "throne", ultimately from the Greek "thronos", meaning a seat of honor. Beyond its literal ceremonial sense, the word can be used figuratively to describe elevating an idea, value, or person to supreme importance, as in enthronizing reason or tradition above all else. Because it appears mainly in formal, literary, or ecclesiastical contexts, it carries a solemn, elevated tone. Writers today more often choose "enthrone", but "enthronize" survives in historical and liturgical usage and remains fully understood.
verbTo install someone on a throne or formally invest them with sovereign power; by extension, to elevate a person or thing to a position of supreme importance or honor.
- To install a monarch or bishop formally in office, especially on or as if on a throne.
- To exalt or raise something to supreme prominence or devotion (figurative).
"The archbishop enthronized the young king amid great ceremony."
"The council gathered at Canterbury to enthronize the newly appointed archbishop."
"Critics accused the movement of seeking to enthronize wealth as the highest virtue."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How enthronize is actually used
A rare and somewhat archaic variant of the much more common 'enthrone'. Found chiefly in formal, ecclesiastical, or literary writing; using the more familiar form is usually preferable in modern prose.
Easily confused with enthronize
Entthrone is the far more common form of the same word; 'enthronize' is a rarer variant carrying the identical meaning.