Definition of "pedestal" []

• An architectural support or base, as for a column or statue. (noun)
• A support or foundation. (noun)
• A position of high regard or adoration. (noun)
• To place on or provide with a pedestal. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Yes, the Romantic individualism which puts the “poetic genius” on a pedestal is a fairly recent development, but acclaim is not so new."
• "Part of the reason Obama has fallen from his pedestal is the reality of who he is and what he has done is now being exposed."
• "What many of you do now with Obama placing him on a pedestal is suicide."