idolatry

plural idolatries · alternative rare idololatry

1. countableuncountablelifestyleThe worship of idols.

   The parish stank of idolatry, abominable rites were practiced in secret, and in all the bounds there was no one had a more evil name for the black traffic than one Alison Sempill, who bode at the Skerburnfoot.

   1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

   1 more example

   Now the great obstacle in tracing the identity of any of the basic forms of worship lies in the vast number of names which appear in the ancient idolatries and mythologies, creating the illusion of a miscellany of gods, whereas many of these different names refer to the same deity. Thus the sun has been personified and worshipped under as many different names as there are nations on the surface of the earth.

   1941, George Ryley Scott, Phallic Worship: A History of Sex and Sex Rites in Relation to the Religions of All Races from Antiquity to the Present Day, London: T. Werner Laurie, page 20

   Synonyms: avodah zarah

2. countablefigurativelyuncountableThe excessive admiration of somebody or something.

   Synonyms: adoration, reverence, worship