verehren
revere
To feel great respect and admiration for a person or an achievement.
EXAMPLE
Sie verehrt die Autorin für ihre klugen und einfühlsamen Romane.
She reveres the author for her intelligent and empathetic novels.
verehren
to revere / worship
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Meanings
verehren
worship
To worship a deity or sacred object and honor it ritually.
EXAMPLE
Die alten Ägypter verehrten die Katze als heiliges Tier.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped the cat as a sacred animal.
verehren
adore
(elevated, partly outdated) To romantically admire and idolize someone, often from afar.
EXAMPLE
Der junge Mann verehrte die Schauspielerin heimlich und schrieb ihr jeden Tag einen Brief.
The young man secretly adored the actress and wrote her a letter every day.
Usage tips
Word structure
'Verehren' (to revere / worship) consists of the inseparable prefix 'ver-' and the verb 'ehren' (to honor). The prefix intensifies the meaning of 'ehren' into deep, intense admiration.
EXAMPLE
Viele Menschen verehren Sportler für ihre Disziplin und Leistung.
Many people revere athletes for their discipline and performance.
Sentence structure
The verb 'verehren' (to revere / worship) is transitive and always needs a direct object in the accusative. You always revere or worship someone or something.
EXAMPLE
Ich verehre meine Großmutter für ihre Lebensweisheit.
I revere my grandmother for her wisdom about life.
Context clue
The object reveals the meaning: If you revere an artist or scientist, admiration is meant. If you worship a god or a sacred place, religious worship is meant.
EXAMPLE
Er verehrt den Regisseur für seine innovativen Filme.
He reveres the director for his innovative films.
Use with 'für'
If you want to state the reason for the admiration, use the preposition 'für' followed by a noun in the accusative.
EXAMPLE
Die ganze Welt verehrte ihn für seinen Einsatz für den Frieden.
The whole world revered him for his commitment to peace.
Register note
The romantic meaning of 'verehren' (to adore someone / to idolize someone) is considered elevated and somewhat outdated today. You mainly find it in poems, old films, or when someone wants to speak very poetically.
EXAMPLE
In seinen Briefen schrieb er, dass er sie aus der Ferne verehre.
In his letters, he wrote that he adored her from afar.
Compare with
verehren vs respektieren
to respect
Respektieren and verehren both express a positive attitude toward a person or their achievements. Respektieren can simply mean having respect or appreciation, while verehren usually expresses particularly deep admiration. Choose respektieren for normal appreciation and verehren for strong, often enthusiastic admiration.
verehren
Viele Fans verehren unsere Trainerin wegen ihrer großen Erfolge.
Many fans revere our coach because of her great successes.
respektieren
Ich respektiere unsere Trainerin für ihre Erfahrung und ihre ruhige Art.
I respect our coach for her experience and calm manner.
In real life
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