constitutionolatry

constitutionolatry noun: the worship of a constitution.

Noun (1)

constitutionolatry (uncountable)

(nonce-word) The worship of a constitution.
- But now, frankly, does not the spirit of The News breathe a false constitution[-]olatry? It is claimed that the Supreme Court has exceeded the bounds of the constitution or perhaps in the language of [Thomas] Jefferson, stretched it till it cracked.1901 June 7, C. R. Loop, “This Country and the Constitution”, in The Indianapolis News, 6th edition, volume XXXII, number 161 (9,828 overall), Indianapolis, Ind., published 10 June 1901, →OCLC, page...
- In 1776 it was the tyranny of a despot; in 1936 it is the pressure of the dead hand upon the living present; a constitutionolatry like that of the Scribes and Pharisees for the Pentateuch, of the Talmudic rabbis for the Mosaic code.1936 February 1, A. W. Slaten, “Aloha Tower”, in Honolulu Star-Bulletin, number 18574 (Evening Bulletin) / volume XLIII, number 13715 (Hawaiian Star), Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, page six, column 5

Constitutionolatry (uncountable)

(nonce-word) The worship of the Constitution.
- […] the written Constitution bequeathed by them to the country became a Holy Scripture. A man was permitted to think as he pleased about the Bible; but it was accounted blasphemy to whisper a suspicion that any clause in the American Constitution was not written by Divine inspiration. Our fathers...1866 June, an American, “Anomalies of the American Constitution”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume LXXIII, number CCCCXXXVIII, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 717, column 2
- Yet we find even Mr. Gladstone praising our Constitution as the creation of the men in 1787; and in America there has been a kind of Constitutionolatry which has tended to obscure the historic origin of its methods and principles through the very intensity of the admiration felt for its wisdom.1889 November 23, T., “[Reviews.] The Origin and Growth of the English Constitution. An Historical Treatise, [etc.] By Hannis Taylor. In Two Parts. Part I: The Making of the Constitution. Pp. xl. and...

Constitutionolatry and cemeteryocracy are not democracy.[…]”1937 March 12, “Jesuit Editors Debate Supreme Court Issue”, in Patrick J. Moran, editor, The True Voice, volume XXXV, number 10, Omaha...
Constitutionolatry / Many good epigrams have been coined about the British constitution—that myth—but it always pleases me to find one I had not heard of before.1962 August 10, Queequeg, “Spectator’s Notebook”, in The Spectator, page 181:
An earnest lawman given to fussy detail, constitutionolatry, and dryness of touch, he drily allowed Pierce to keep the field.1980 winter, Walter N. Trenerry, “Last Campaign of the Civil War: Aged Minnesota Veteran Takes On the GAR”, in Minnesota History, volume...
@jianghomeshi American "constitutionolatry" is so bizarre.2011 March 18, @kashicat [Phil 🇨🇦], Twitter (post), archived from the original on 18 Jun 2023:

From constitution + -olatry.

From Constitution + -olatry.

What does constitutionolatry mean?: Constitutionolatry means the worship of a constitution.
How do you use constitutionolatry in a sentence?: Constitutionolatry and cemeteryocracy are not democracy.[…]”
What part of speech is constitutionolatry?: Constitutionolatry is a noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: constitutionolatry (page history and authors); Constitutionolatry (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “constitutionolatry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/constitutionolatry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.