ardor

[ahr-der]

noun

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.

Nearby words

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 FOR ardor

1. fervency, spirit, earnestness, intensity.

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

Examples from the Web for ardour

But Jack Scott came in and entered into the “game,” as he called it, with ardour.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Latimer's sermons, Barnes's ardour, and Fryth's firmness, excited fresh zeal at Cambridge.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Volume V|J. H. Merle d'Aubigné
He travelled abroad; and he cultivated poetry with the ardour he could even feel for the acquisition of words.
Calamities and Quarrels of Authors|Isaac Disraeli
At home Michael applied himself with ardour to the mastery of his religion.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie

He did not value gold for its own sake; but he did for the ardour of the search.
The Man|Bram Stoker
After a time Mr. Gupperduck began to show signs that the first ardour of his appetite had been appeased.
Adventures of Bindle|Herbert George Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for ardour

ardour

US ardor

noun

feelings of great intensity and warmth; fervour

eagerness; zeal

Word Origin for ardour

C14: from Old French ardour, from Latin ārdor, from ārdēre to burn

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 ardour

ardour

chiefly British English spelling of ardor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.

ardor

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.