Idolatry is obsessive and unrealistic worship, devo­tion or love directed at another person, who has then been termed an idol.  The obsessed person is the idolater, and invari­ably has a false mental perception of who or what the idol represents.

Idolatry is sometimes called idol worship, and the people who worship idols can be called idolaters.

The idol may be some­one who the idolater knows, such as a school friend or teacher; or, as is frequently the case with teenagers, a public figure such as a pop music star, film star or sports personality.  When idolatry occurs in adults, it is often at the beginning of a new relation­ship, when individuals may be unaware of their partner's faults and may even try to avoid discovering them.