an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.

Bible .

an image of a deity other than God.

the deity itself.

any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion

Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.

a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.

a figment of the mind; fantasy.

a false conception or notion; fallacy.

noun

beloved , darling , dear , deity , desire , eidolon , false god , favorite , fetish , god , goddess , golden calf , graven image , hero , icon , image , inamorata , pagan symbol , simulacrum , superstar , effigy , image (of a divinity) , juggernaut , star , symbol