adore

[ uh-dawr, uh-dohr ]
See synonyms for: adoreadoredadoresadoring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),a·dored, a·dor·ing.
  1. to regard with the utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor.

  2. to pay divine honor to; worship: to adore God.

  1. to like or admire very much: I simply adore the way your hair is done!

verb (used without object),a·dored, a·dor·ing.
  1. to worship.

Origin of adore

1
1275–1325; <Latin adōrāre to speak to, pray, worship, equivalent to ad-ad- + ōrāre to speak, beg (see oral); replacing Middle English aour(i)e<Old French aourer<Latin

Other words for adore

Opposites for adore

Other words from adore

  • a·dor·er, noun
  • a·dor·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·a·dored, adjective
  • un·a·dor·ing, adjective
  • un·a·dor·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adore in a sentence

  • Since then I have made the acquaintance of the Abb Coignard, and have become a faithful adorer.

  • He was Jess's most humble adorer, but his grief was that she would never look at him if Davey was looking at her.

    The Pioneers | Katharine Susannah Prichard
  • Indiana was handed out by her new adorer, the young baronet; and Eugenia was assisted by her new assailer, the young nobleman.

    Camilla | Fanny Burney
  • The enthusiastic lawyer refused all promotion, and became a quite pious adorer of this angel of grace and beauty.

    Parisians in the Country | Honore de Balzac
  • The enraged girl, now maddened with fury, laid her hands on the neck of her adorer, as if about to strangle him.

    The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 | Armando Palacio Valds

British Dictionary definitions for adore

adore

/ (əˈdɔː) /


verb
  1. (tr) to love intensely or deeply

  2. to worship (a god) with religious rites

  1. (tr) informal to like very much: I adore chocolate

Origin of adore

1
C15: via French from Latin adōrāre, from ad- to + ōrāre to pray

Derived forms of adore

  • adorer, noun
  • adoring, adjective
  • adoringly, adverb

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