admire

[ad-mahyuhr]

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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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR admire

1. esteem, revere, venerate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR admire ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR admire

1. despise.

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Related forms

ad·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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Karl, sure enough, was strolling about below and allowing the boys and girls to admire him.
Pelle the Conqueror, Complete|Martin Anderson Nexo
They are such as reason must admire, for they are the result of industry, temperance, and freedom.
Travels in North America, From Modern Writers|William Bingley
He urged me, as I understood it, to come downstairs and admire a man that was in the street.
An Irishman's Difficulties with the Dutch Language|N.A. Cuey-na-Gael
Polly was profuse in her thanks, and when it was finished, called to her father to come and admire it.
Philosopher Jack|R.M. Ballantyne
"In Europe we're almost bound to admire the dingy, if not the ugly," returned Uncle Jim.
Irma in Italy|Helen Leah Reed

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

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.

admire

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

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

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of admire

Examples from the Web for admire

admire

verb (tr)

Word Origin for admire

admire