Word
Of
The
Day
apotheosis
apotheosis \uh-pah-thee-OH-sis\
noun
Apotheosis refers to the perfect form or example of something, or to the highest or best part of something. It can also mean “elevation to divine status;
deification.” It is usually singular, but the plural form is
apotheoses.
// Some consider (however ironically) french fries to be the
apotheosis of U.S. cuisine.
// Their music reached its creative
apotheosis in the late 2010s, which is also when they won two Grammys.
See the entry >
Examples:
“At its simplest level, Canada appears in American literature as a wilderness escape from a more urbanized United States. ... The
apotheosis of this view of Canada as a wilderness getaway might be Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘Two Campers in Cloud Country,’ subtitled ‘Rock Lake, Canada’ and written about a camping trip she and her husband Ted Hughes took through Canada and the northeastern US in 1959.” — Brooke Clark,
LitHub.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Did you know?