ardor
[ahr-der]
- great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion: She spoke persuasively and with ardor.
- intense devotion, eagerness, or enthusiasm; zeal: his well-known ardor for Chinese art.
- burning heat.
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Also especially British, ar·dour.
Origin of ardor
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to ārd(ēre) to burn + -or -or1; replacing Middle English ardure < Old French ardur < Latin, as above; 17th century ardour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
eagerness, zeal, earnestness, intensity, passion, fervor, warmth, zing, zest, avidity, fire, weakness, jazz, gusto, keenness, heat, vehemence, oomph, verve, fiercenessExamples from the Web for ardor
Contemporary Examples
In the end, talent and technique got the better of ardor and audacity.
Though they look like little potsers and nudniks—wise men of Chelm—they are made vibrant by the ardor of their claims.
Primary voters have two qualities by which they operate: ardor and calculation.
The GOP had its ardor candidates, like Pat Buchanan in 1992, but they were understood to be temporary phenomena or unelectable.
I wish that the ardor for information on our jobs initiative would be as strong as it is on this other subject.
Historical Examples
The ardor of Mr. Gladstone's feelings on this subject is notorious.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
Man-like, hot with the ardor of the chase, he was deaf and blind to all else.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
This feeling, be it understood, in no wise chilled my ardor.
The Room in the Dragon VolantJ. Sheridan LeFanu
He had been prepared for it, and to resist it, and break it down by the ardor of his appeal.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
It was a problem which he debated with an ardor that had in it something of passion.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
Word Origin and History for ardor
n.
early 15c., "heat of passion or desire," from Old French ardure "heat, glow; passion" (12c.), from Latin ardorem (nominative ardor) "a flame, fire, burning, heat;" also of feelings, etc., "eagerness, zeal," from ardere "to burn" (see ardent). In Middle English, used of base passions; since Milton's time, of noble ones.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper