adore
Americanverb (used with object)
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adores,
present (3rd person singular)
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adored,
past participle, past
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adoring
present participle
verb (used without object)
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adores,
present (3rd person singular)
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adored,
past participle, past
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adoring
present participle
verb
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(tr) to love intensely or deeply
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to worship (a god) with religious rites
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informal (tr) to like very much
I adore chocolate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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adorernoun
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adoringadjective
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unadoredadjective
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unadoringadjective
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adoringlyadverb
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unadoringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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adoresimple
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adoressimple
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have adoredperfect
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has adoredperfect
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am adoringprogressive
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are adoringprogressive
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is adoringprogressive
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have been adoringperfect progressive
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has been adoringperfect progressive
Past
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adoredsimple
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had adoredperfect
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was adoringprogressive
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were adoringprogressive
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had been adoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of adore
First recorded in 1275–1325; from Latin adōrāre “to speak to, pray, worship,” from ad- ad- + ōrāre “to beg, plead, speak” ( see oration); replacing Middle English aour(i)e, from Old French aourer, from Latin
Explanation
Someone you adore gets put on a pedestal. Considering your fear of germs, when you told me that you had shared a toothbrush — I knew you must adore her! Adore comes from the Latin word adorare, meaning “to worship.” So when you adore someone, it's more than just a crush. However, like many words of strong emotion, adore gets used in lighter situations as well. Your aunt tells me you just adore the miniature fruitcakes she sends you every holiday.
Vocabulary lists containing adore
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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.
See Examples For:
But the ambitious young women who adore them don’t really understand them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
"I absolutely adore my children," Alex says, particularly now they are old enough to play football with.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Those who adore Kurosawa’s unsettling earlier films may be thrown off by his new movie’s relatively muted approach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
But if you really adore the art form, Letterboxd’s popularity is a rare net positive in an era when tech is largely being used to pit humanity against art and each other.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I absolutely adore these two.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
The 54-year-old fisherman from a small village in Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi, has been a superfan of the Argentine football team since the 1980s and adores superstar Lionel Messi.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
That man adores Ina and anything that she makes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
If the best way to hit it big is to make a podcast that someone like Altman adores, then the rest of us are probably in trouble.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2026
Mr. Jacobs also adores the look of the taxi dancers—“broken dolls,” he calls them—in Bob Fosse’s movie “Sweet Charity.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
My son adores playing with a doll I bought for him last Xmas.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
He was “smart as hell,” and adored his hometown of Atlanta, said his cousin She L. Robinson, a publicist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I adored her from Day One; how could you not?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
He offers a masculinity with actual range, one that can be soft and adored and unafraid to be looked at, one that treats femininity as a color to wear rather than a threat to survive.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Parton adored Stallone, whom she called “better than popcorn.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Although he adored the title “colonel,” it was only an honorary one, granted by the governor of Illinois.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
On the campaign trail, Siegmund -- a former entrepreneur with a sharp undercut hairstyle and a huge social media following -- has been mobbed by adoring fans, many wearing T-shirts bearing his likeness.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Little is known about Graham—or, apparently, by Graham—and it’s not as if the state’s right wing was ever adoring of her late brother.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026
Like Grande to her adoring fans, Maddie is Deena’s idol, and Deena measures Maddie’s success by her work benchmarks and public visibility.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
He sucked up the energy provided by a swell of support from thousands of adoring fans and again moved within one shot of the lead.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
“Sometimes I dream that I’m writing a memoir. A memoir would be just the thing to keep me in the hearts and memories of my adoring public.”
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
