dear
1 Americanadjective
-
dearer,
comparative
-
dearest
superlative
-
beloved or loved.
a dear friend.
- Synonyms:
- darling
-
(used in the salutation of a letter as an expression of affection or respect or as a conventional greeting).
Dear Sir.
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precious in one's regard; cherished.
our dearest possessions.
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heartfelt; earnest.
one's dearest wish.
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high-priced; expensive.
The silk dress was too dear.
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charging high prices.
That shop is too dear for my budget.
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excessive; high.
a dear price to pay for one's independence.
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Obsolete. difficult to get; scarce.
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Obsolete. worthy; honorable.
noun
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dears
plural
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a person who is good, kind, or generous.
You're a dear to help me with the work.
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a beloved one.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to a stranger, subordinate, etc.)
adverb
-
dearly; fondly.
-
at a high price.
That painting cost me dear.
interjection
adjective
-
dearer,
comparative
-
dearest
superlative
adjective
-
beloved; precious
-
used in conventional forms of address preceding a title or name, as in Dear Sir or my dear Mr Smith
-
important; close
a wish dear to her heart
-
-
highly priced
-
charging high prices
-
-
appealing or pretty
what a dear little ring!
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urgently or with extreme vigour or desperation
interjection
noun
adverb
Synonym Usage
See expensive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of dear1
First recorded before 900; Middle English dere, deire, Old English dēore, dīore, dȳre; cognate with Old High German tiuri, Old Norse dȳrr
Origin of dear2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English dere “fierce, hard,” Old English dēor “brave, bold, severe”
Explanation
If someone or something is dear to you, it means you hold them or it very close to your heart, as in "My country is very dear to me" or "She is a dear friend." As a written form of address — such as "Dear Mr. So-and-so" — dear is generally a polite but impersonal standard greeting. Dear can sometimes mean expensive, as in "The cost of food is so dear these days," though that's a rather dated usage nowadays. Used about children, baby animals, or other examples of insufferable cuteness, dear can also mean "sweet" or "adorable." In this sense, dear is a favorite word of grandmothers and other doting relations.
Vocabulary lists containing dear
"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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"Earthquake"
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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 don’t worry, dear reader, Coughlan will not disappear completely from the popular Netflix series, set to be released next year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Little did she know, she’d be “holding on for dear life” on the rocky ferry from Naxos to Milos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He said it would be a look at his life, his comedy and his clothes, and take place somewhere that is "very dear to my heart".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Your stepmother might say: “Of course, my dear, that makes perfect sense. I appreciate you telling me in advance.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Below him, there was Glory, gripping the branch for dear life, and behind her Llewelyn.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
“We didn’t keep that,” she said, “but I loved learning what Lydia would do if she could. ‘Eyes forward dears, we are not sitting comfortably in a class room.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025
I would think to myself, Oh, my dears, if you could only see who you are speaking to and how hard they work.
From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2024
He helped a few old dears over the threshold, didn't he?'
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2023
By ingesting the chirpy little dears, Bergenkind seeks to internalize the little guys’ sunny joyfulness.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2016
But do not toil too hard, my dears.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Meanwhile, what got cheaper diverged sharply from what got dearer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
"We bring our children and teenagers alongside us so they can see military training, and whenever our leader, dearer than our lives, gives the command, we will all come to the field," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Just as tomato prices begin cooling down, onions have gotten dearer by a quarter since June in the domestic market.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023
“The freedom I had before the money was paid was dearer to me,” Ms. Jacobs wrote.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
It was dearer to her than her kin, better than a lover, wiser than a book.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Even the non-thriller themes — female friendship, aging, ageism, admitting the truth about oneself to oneself and one’s dearest, the invigorating effects of danger — are explicitly expressed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Two of my dearest friends travel under ethnically neutral names that their parents changed from obviously Jewish ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
My husband and I watch “Love Is Blind” with one of those nearest and dearest, and we three approach each season like rabid sports fans who are only in it to yell at the TV.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
As long as you and your wife have enough set aside for retirement, keep living the dream and passing it along to your nearest and dearest.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
It had been a birthday gift from Grandma when I started school, and it was my dearest treasure.
From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang
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.
