admire

[ad-mahyuhr]

See more synonyms for admire on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ad·mired, ad·mir·ing.

to regard with wonder, pleasure, or approval.
to regard with wonder or surprise (usually used ironically or sarcastically): I admire your audacity.

verb (used without object), ad·mired, ad·mir·ing.

to feel or express admiration.
Dialect. to take pleasure; like or desire: I would admire to go.

Idioms

be admiring of, Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. to admire: He's admiring of his brother's farm.

Origin of admire

1580–90; < Latin admīrārī, equivalent to ad- ad- + mīrārī (in Medieval Latin mīrāre) to wonder at, admire

Related formsad·mir·er, nounpre·ad·mire, verb (used with object), pre·ad·mired, pre·ad·mir·ing.pre·ad·mir·er, nounqua·si-ad·mire, verb, qua·si-ad·mired, qua·si-ad·mir·ing.un·ad·mired, adjective

Synonyms for admire

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1. esteem, revere, venerate.

Antonyms for admire

1. despise.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for admire

extol, prize, applaud, treasure, appreciate, laud, honor, commend, credit, adore, hail, praise, cherish, respect, worship, revere, idolize, glorify, eulogize, value

Examples from the Web for admire

Contemporary Examples of admire

Something about it I admire and something about it I find unpersuasive.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination
Mindy Farabee
December 26, 2014
He also recalls the many visitors who would often go to the island to admire its harvests and wildlife.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway
Nina Strochlic
December 18, 2014
You have to admire his convictions; most frustrated auteurs in this town just call such things “an Alan Smithee project.”
Sony Hack: A Dictator Move?
Kevin Bleyer
December 14, 2014
He allows the subject to float over to Hitchcock with a calm directness that I admire.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen.
Are Politicians Too Dumb to Understand the Lyrics to ‘Born in the USA’?
Parker Molloy
November 6, 2014

Historical Examples of admire

Mr. Paine did not admire Mrs. Davis, and was not likely to be influenced by her prejudices.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Then you will understand, and understanding, you will admire his courage.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
It's a good bluff, as I said before, and I admire the way you worked it.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
I admire him—you'd have to see him in the hospital, with every one deferring to him and all that, to understand.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
True, Shakespeare was not the kind of man Englishmen are accustomed to admire.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for admire

admire

verb (tr)

to regard with esteem, respect, approval, or pleased surprise
archaic to wonder at

Derived Formsadmirer, nounadmiring, adjectiveadmiringly, adverb

Word Origin for admire

C16: from Latin admīrāri to wonder at, from ad- to, at + mīrāri to wonder, from mīrus wonderful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for admire

early 15c. (implied in admired), from Middle French admirer (Old French amirer, 14c.), or directly from Latin admirari "to wonder at" (see admiration). Related: Admiring; admiringly.