admire
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to feel or express admiration.
-
Dialect. to take pleasure; like or desire.
I would admire to go.
idioms
verb
-
to regard with esteem, respect, approval, or pleased surprise
-
archaic to wonder at
Other Word Forms
- admirer noun
- admiring adjective
- admiringly adverb
- preadmire verb (used with object)
- quasi-admire verb
- unadmired adjective
Etymology
Origin of admire
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin admīrārī, equivalent to ad- ad- + mīrārī (in Medieval Latin mīrāre ) “to wonder at, admire”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That detour gave me a chance to admire the stone ruins of a hotel that was built next to the springs in 1870s.
From Los Angeles Times
In Neighborly Park Circle, a shop focused on local producers and designers, I admired the Smithey iron skillets and J. Stark bags, but with just $4 remaining, I left empty-handed.
“But it’s not about the dividend or the monthly spit-out. I admire John for throwing down.”
From Los Angeles Times
While admired for its painstaking construction, de Guitaut notes the dress offers a glimpse into a moment in history in a country on the precipice of change.
From BBC
The writers who last well beyond their own era persist because other serious writers have admired them.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
