What does immortalise mean?
To immortalise something is to make it endure in public memory, usually by giving it lasting fame or significance. The word is often used when a person, place, event, or artistic work has been captured in a way that makes it permanently memorable: a portrait can immortalise a face, while a novel can immortalise a landscape or community. Its force comes from combining ordinary human achievement with the idea of living forever, although the meaning is figurative rather than supernatural. The verb is common in cultural criticism, biography, history, and journalism, and often implies that the subject has been preserved with exceptional distinction or influence. It can sound slightly elevated and literary, so in everyday speech a simpler phrase such as “made famous” or “remembered forever” may be preferable.
verbTo make someone or something famous, admired, or remembered permanently. It can also mean to preserve something in a form that allows it to endure beyond its original lifetime.
- To make someone famous or admired in a lasting way.
- To preserve the memory, image, or significance of someone or something.
- To represent someone or something in a form that endures.
"The novel immortalised the landscape and people of the remote village."
"The photographer's portrait immortalised the young composer."
"Historians debate which event the epic most effectively immortalises."
You do not have to live forever to be immortalised: a great photograph, song, or story can make your name outlive you.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does immortalise come from?
The word was formed in the 18th century by adding the suffix “-ise” to “immortal,” meaning undying or everlasting. “Immortal” comes from Latin immortalis, from inmortalis, based on in- “not” and mortalis “mortal,” from mors, meaning death. Related English forms include “immortality” and “mortal,” while cognates exist in several other European languages.
Related word forms
How immortalise is actually used
The word is especially common in the arts, media, and historical writing. It is usually figurative and carries a sense of lasting fame, significance, or remembrance rather than literal immortality.
Easily confused with immortalise
“Immortalise” is a verb meaning to make someone or something enduringly famous or memorable, whereas “immortal” is an adjective describing something that does not die or is believed never to die.
“Memorialise” usually means to preserve someone in memory, especially by establishing a memorial or commemoration, while “immortalise” more broadly suggests making someone or something permanently famous.