to idealize / bank
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to idealize
To present someone or something in an exaggeratedly positive way in terms of their significance, value, or importance; to idealize or glorify something.
In seiner Biografie neigt er dazu, seine eigene Rolle bei den historischen Ereignissen zu überhöhen.
In his biography, he tends to idealize his own role in the historical events.
to bank
In road or railway construction, to build a curve so that the outer side is higher than the inner side in order to counteract centrifugal force when traveling through it.
Damit die Züge schneller fahren können, muss die Gleiskurve stark überhöht werden.
So that the trains can travel faster, the railway curve has to be strongly banked.
'Überhöhen' (to idealize / bank) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'über-' remains firmly attached to the verb in all sentence forms and is not placed at the end of the sentence.
Er hat seine eigenen Verdienste in der Rede stark überhöht.
He strongly idealized his own achievements in the speech.
The meaning can be recognized from the object. If 'überhöhen' (to idealize) refers to abstract things like a role, a person, or an achievement, it means 'to idealize'. If it refers to a curve or a track, the technical meaning from construction is meant.
Man sollte die Leistungen der Vergangenheit nicht künstlich überhöhen.
One should not artificially idealize the achievements of the past.
In the meaning 'idealisieren' (to idealize), the verb is often used with abstract nouns such as 'die Rolle' (the role), 'die Bedeutung' (the significance), 'die Leistung' (the achievement), or 'eine Person' (a person).
Der Film überhöht die Hauptfigur zu einem makellosen Helden.
The film idealizes the main character into a flawless hero.
The meaning in road and railway construction is technical language. You find it in texts about engineering, traffic engineering, or architecture.
Der Ingenieur berechnete, wie stark die Kurve überhöht werden muss.
The engineer calculated how strongly the curve has to be banked.
to praise
Preisen means praising someone explicitly and in elevated language. Überhöhen goes further: a person is portrayed in an exaggeratedly positive way and given more significance or greatness than is appropriate. Preisen fits strong praise, while überhöhen describes an unrealistic idealization.
In seiner Rede überhöhte der Bürgermeister die Autorin zu einer vollkommenen Heldin.
In his speech, the mayor turned the author into a perfect heroine.
In seiner Rede pries der Bürgermeister die Autorin für ihren großen Mut.
In his speech, the mayor praised the author for her great courage.
