to treat as an object of great interest or importance.
Give a lot of public attention and approval to (someone); treat as a celebrity
to treat or regard as a celebrity [v LIONIZED, LIONIZES, LIONIZING]
While her name was not attached to her books in her lifetime she published anonymously, Jane Austen continues two centuries hence to be lionized as one of the English languages greatest novelists.
to treat as a celebrity, also LIONISE [v LIONIZED, LIONIZING, LIONIZES]