1. Exaltation to divine rank or stature; deification.
2. Elevation to a preeminent or transcendent position; glorification: "Many observers have tried to attribute Warhol's current apotheosis to the subversive power of artistic vision" (Michiko Kakutani).
3. An exalted or glorified example: Their leader was the apotheosis of courage.

[Late Latin apotheōsis, from Greek, from apotheoun, to deify : apo-, change; see apo- + theos, god.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.