adorable
Americanadjective
-
very attractive; charming; lovable
-
rare deserving or eliciting adoration
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adorable
From the Latin word adōrābilis, dating back to 1605–15. See adore, -able
Explanation
Tie a pink ribbon around your puppy's neck and push him around in a stroller, and you'll either get worried stares or compliments on how adorable he looks. Adorable means lovable, sweet, and childlike. The adjective adorable is mostly used to mean "cute," when someone is describing something sweet or charming, like a baby or a pretty dress. The origins of the word adorable are actually religious; it was first used only to mean "worthy of adoration." The Latin word adorare, "to ask in prayer," is the root of adore, which in the 14th century meant "to worship." It wasn't until the 1880s that adorable began to mean "delightful" rather than "worthy of worshiping."
Vocabulary lists containing adorable
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -able, -ible
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Positive Words to Describe People, List 2
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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.
He’s adorable, guileless and given to the sort of offhand poetry that only tender youth can produce, casually reflecting on “the deep surprise of the ocean.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Visible tributes to other Miyazaki works are apparent through “Avatar,” perhaps the most obvious being Aapa, Aang’s beloved sky bison, whose appearance is inspired by the adorable Catbus from “My Neighbor Totoro.”
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Adjacent to the kitchen, there is an adorable breakfast nook with French doors that open up to the perfectly manicured grounds.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
When Apple announced the app in the winter of 2024, the simplicity of the pitch was almost adorable.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2026
Skardebek, his adorable pet icthyod, had clamped herself to his cheek, and she wasn’t happy about being woken up.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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.
