What does idolater mean?
An idolater is, literally, a person who worships an idol or cult image. In figurative use, the word describes someone whose admiration or devotion has become so intense that it resembles worship of an object or ideal. The religious sense is chiefly found in historical, legal, and theological writing, while the figurative sense is generally derogatory and often implies blind or excessive attachment. “An idolater of wealth,” for example, accuses a person of treating money as a source of absolute value rather than merely a means. Although English has the much more familiar noun idolatry, idolater remains a precise term for the person who performs or professes such worship. The distinction matters because idolatry can name the practice or broader system, whereas an idolater identifies its human agent. The word is uncommon in everyday neutral speech, but it is useful in discussing religious history, criticism of celebrity culture, and the psychological tendency to elevate one person, product, or ideal beyond reasonable proportion.
nounA person who worships an idol or cult image; by extension, someone who gives excessive devotion or admiration to a person, object, or ideal.
- A person who worships an idol or cult image.
- A person who devotes excessive admiration or attachment to a person, object, or ideal.
"Her rhetoric cast the collector as an idolater of rare objects."
"A critic accused the fan of being an idolater of celebrity."
"The decree threatened severe punishment for anyone convicted of being an idolater."
The standard plural is idolaters; idolater is normally used as a count noun.
"The authorities prosecuted several suspected idolaters."
Its Greek roots mean “image” and “worship,” an apt description of both literal idolatry and its figurative use.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does idolater come from?
The English word comes through Old French from Medieval Latin idolatra, a form based on Greek eidololatrēs, “worshipper of idols.” The Greek compound combines eidōlon, “image” or “form,” with latreia, “service” or “worship.” Its literal religious meaning developed into the modern figurative sense of someone who gives excessive devotion to a person, object, or ideal.
Related word forms
How idolater is actually used
The word is uncommon in everyday neutral speech. Its religious sense may be neutral or historical, while its figurative use is generally formal and derogatory, implying excessive or uncritical devotion.
Easily confused with idolater
An idol is an image or object regarded as sacred and worshipped, whereas an idolater is the person who worships it.