endear

[en-deer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR endear ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to make dear, esteemed, or beloved: He endeared himself to his friends with his gentle ways.

Obsolete. to make costly.

Origin of endear

First recorded in 1570–80; en-¹ + dear¹

Related formsun·en·deared, adjective

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

Related Words for endear

captivate, cherish, engage, prize, win, treasure, value, attach, charm, bind

Examples from the Web for endear

Contemporary Examples of endear

Once discovered, this maneuver did not endear the councilors to their constituents.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers
Michael Schulson
July 27, 2016
Somehow, this did not endear Lonegan to voters, and Booker officially entered the Senate on Oct. 31st.
The Ugly Truth About Cory Booker, New Jersey’s Golden Boy
Olivia Nuzzi
October 20, 2014
Her modest celebrity and Manhattan snobberies alternately isolate and endear her to the locals.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Jan. 27, 2014
Thomas Flynn
January 27, 2014
If he wants to endear himself to the Republican rank and file out in the heartland, he should change his tune on Obama fast.
Why the GOP Doesn’t Love Chris Christie
David Freedlander
February 28, 2013
Her outspokenness did not endear Rogers to the elite clique of former social secretaries.
The New White House Wallflower
Sandra McElwaine
December 20, 2009

Historical Examples of endear

But that is one of the attributes of Mr. Gladstone which endear him so much to his party.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
But it is not altogether courage and daring that endear him to our hearts.
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
Howard Pyle
These two deficiencies, if deficiencies they be, only endear him the more to us.
The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault
Death itself did not suffice to endear Fred Rider to his brother.
The Doctor's Family
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
Moreover, his supercilious manners had not helped to endear him since his arrival.
The Highgrader
William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for endear

endear

verb

(tr) to cause to be beloved or esteemed

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 endear

1580s, "to enhance the value of," also "win the affection of," from en- (1) "make, put in" + dear (adj.). Meaning "to make dear" is from 1640s. Related: Endeared; endearing.