glamorise

Glamorise is a verb meaning to present or depict something as glamorous, attractive, or desirable, often by emphasizing style or luxury and downplaying or omitting less favorable aspects. It is commonly used in discussions of media, marketing, and culture to describe how products, lifestyles, or events are framed to look more appealing than they might be in reality.

The word derives from glamour, with the agentive suffix -ise in British English. Its American counterpart is glamourize, and the standard British spelling is glamourise. The form glamorise is sometimes used interchangeably with related variants in everyday language, reflecting regional spelling differences.

In practice, glamorising can be neutral or rhetorical and appears across advertising campaigns, entertainment media, fashion editorials, and public relations. Critics argue that glamorising can distort reality, promote unhealthy or unethical behavior, or create unattainable standards by focusing on idealized imagery rather than substance. Proponents may view it as a legitimate technique for storytelling, persuasion, or cultural critique when it highlights appeal or raises interest without misrepresenting essential facts.

Examples include campaigns that glamorise consumerism through glossy visuals, films that glamorise a dangerous lifestyle via stylized cinematography, or news coverage that glamourises sensational events by prioritizing spectacle over context. In discourse, glamorising is often weighed against concerns about authenticity, ethics, and the potential social impact of such framing.

See also: glamour, glamourization, romanticization, sensationalism.