Standard Lemma guide

hagiographer

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˌhæɡiˈɑɡɹəfɚ/
  • US: /ˌheɪɡi-/
  • US: /ˌheɪd͡ʒi-/
  • UK: /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡɹəfə/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Someone who writes the biography of a saint.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Someone who writes in an excessively flattering and laudatory way about a person (as if that person were a saint).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A writer of any of the Hagiographa.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: lifestyle, religion, theology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the author of a worshipful or idealizing biography

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hagiographist, hagiologist

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: biographer

History

Etymology

From hagiography + -er.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: վարքագիր (varkʻagir) — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Asturian: haxógrafu — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Catalan: hagiògraf — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Dutch: hagiograaf — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Finnish: hagiografi — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • French: hagiographe — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Galician: haxiógrafo — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Greek: αγιογράφος (agiográfos) — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Italian: agiografo — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Latin: hagiographus — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Polish: hagiograf — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Portuguese: hagiógrafo — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Russian: агио́граф (agiógraf) — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Russian: состави́тель жизнеописа́ния святы́х (sostavítelʹ žizneopisánija svjatýx) — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Spanish: hagiógrafo — someone who writes the biography of a saint
  • Armenian: սրբագիր (srbagir) — a writer of any of the Hagiographa
  • French: hagiographe — a writer of any of the Hagiographa
  • Greek: υμνητής (ymnitís) — someone who writes in a flattering way about a person
  • Greek: υμνήτρια (ymnítria) — someone who writes in a flattering way about a person