Learn English – Longing for a past that never was

single-word-requests

I'm sure there's a word for this, but I don't know what it is. Specifically, the concept associated with nationalism – the glorification of a past time period as being better than the current one, which usually results in exaggerating that time period's positive aspects and downplaying its negative aspects. It's not quite nostalgia, I don't think.

Best Answer

Two words I often use when I'm doing that myself are:

  • romanticizing: transitive verb : to make romantic : treat as idealized or heroic intransitive verb 1 : to hold romantic ideas 2 : to present details, incidents, or people in a romantic way
  • glorifying: transitive verb 1 a : to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration b : to elevate to celestial glory 2 : to light up brilliantly 3 a : to represent as glorious : extol b : to cause to be or seem to be better than the actual condition
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