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
It is the kind of attitude managers adore.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
“As a full-time solo RV woman I absolutely adore this!” one person wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
I have to admit, it’s been impressive to see my brother turn into a coach to the younger boys at the center, who all adore him.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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
Like Daphne, Patchett is married to an older man — also a doctor — whom she adores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 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
He is only ten and he adores Rahim Khan sahib.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
“She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives,” the family added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The family wrote, “She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
It is different at Tottenham, with the Argentine still adored for his five-year spell in charge from 2014.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
While Parton’s most obvious Muppet counterpart is Miss Piggy, her duet with Kermit the Frog, performed on a 1987 episode of her variety show, encapsulates everything we adored about her — and him.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Charlie adored his dad, like any seven-year-old son adores his father.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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
Mboladinga, 49, sometimes called the “grandson of Lumumba” by adoring fans, says he is pleased that he will be bringing Lumumba’s legacy to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
I appreciate seeing a child adoring they mama.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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.
