IDOL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Idol

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/ˈaɪdəl/ Listen

noun

Idol n.

An image or representation of anything. (Obs.) "Do her adore with sacred reverence, As th' idol of her maker's great magnificence."

An image of a divinity; a representation or symbol of a deity or any other being or thing, made or used as an object of worship; a similitude of a false god. "That they should not worship devils, and idols of gold."

That on which the affections are strongly (often excessively) set; an object of passionate devotion; a person or thing greatly loved or adored. "The soldier's god and people's idol."

A false notion or conception; a fallacy. "The idols of preconceived opinion."

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Etymology of 'Idol'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Idol" Quotes from Famous Books

... Augustin cared much. In all the conceit of his false knowledge, he had that kind of inhumanity which drives the intellectual to make litter of the sweetest and deepest feelings as a sacrifice to his abstract idol. Not only did he not mind very much if his apostasy made his mother weep, but he did not trouble, either, to reconcile the chimeras of his brain with the living reality of his soul and the things of life. Whatever he found inconvenient, he tranquilly denied, content if he had talked ...

— Saint Augustin • Louis Bertrand

... which I at first thought to be some real king or high priest of titanic size, but as I approached it I saw by the way in which the light was reflected from it that it was a statue admirably cut in jet-black stone. I was led up to this idol, for such it seemed to be, and looking at it closer I saw that though it was perfect in every other respect, one of its ears had been broken short off. The grey-haired negro who held my relic mounted upon a small stool, and stretching up his arm fitted Martha's black ...

— The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales • Arthur Conan Doyle

... was surfeited with roses and praises and incense. He alone took precedence over Scott and Coleridge and Moore and Campbell. For a time his pre-eminence in literature was generally conceded. He was the foremost man of letters of his day, and the greatest popular idol. His rank added to his eclat, since not many noblemen were distinguished for genius or literary excellence. His singular beauty of face and person, despite his slight lameness, attracted the admiring gaze of women. What Abelard was in the schools ...

— Beacon Lights of History, Volume XIII • John Lord

... Arthur, whom the giant Beige secretly instructs to overthrow ah idol in the neighboring church, as that will enable him to triumph without difficulty. While Arthur is thus rescuing Beige, Artegall and Talus have again departed to free Irena from her oppressor Grantorto. On their way to Ireland, ...

— The Book of the Epic • Helene A. Guerber

... did not permit me to enjoy. It seemed to be his great delight during supper to keep a young girl next him in a continual agony of stifled laughter, in spite of her awe of the reproving looks of her mother, who sat opposite. Indeed, he was the idol of the younger part of the company, who laughed at everything he said or did, and at every turn of his countenance. I could not wonder at it; for he must have been a miracle of accomplishments in their eyes. He could imitate Punch and Judy; make an old woman of his hand, with the assistance ...

— Old Christmas From the Sketch Book of Washington Irving • Washington Irving

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