endear
Americanverb (used with object)
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endears,
present (3rd person singular)
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endeared,
past participle, past
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endearing
present participle
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to make dear, esteemed, or beloved.
He endeared himself to his friends with his gentle ways.
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Obsolete. to make costly.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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endearsimple
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endearssimple
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have endearedperfect
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has endearedperfect
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am endearingprogressive
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are endearingprogressive
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is endearingprogressive
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have been endearingperfect progressive
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has been endearingperfect progressive
Past
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endearedsimple
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had endearedperfect
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was endearingprogressive
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were endearingprogressive
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had been endearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of endear
Explanation
Things that endear you to others — like your sense of humor or your skill at baking chocolate chip cookies — cause them to be fond of you. The verb endear is almost always followed by the word "to," as in the sentence "The teacher's ready smile and gentle voice endear him to the class of kindergartners." When something endears you to another person, he or she adores you. In the 1500s, endear meant "increase the value of," though it quickly came to mean "make dear," or perhaps to increase the emotional value, especially of another person.
Vocabulary lists containing endear
Grade 10, List 5
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Born a Crime
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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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:
This marketing strategy naturally didn’t endear him to others in his industry, since it implied that they were moving too fast and in the process breaking things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
"He probably wants to endear himself to his father," Minde tells the BBC, but adds that some of the posts are deliberate "provocations".
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
One surefire way to endear yourself to your favorite eatery is to evangelize for it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
As one can imagine, this does nothing to endear Carol to Laxmi.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
Luke went over to the ancient television and turned the knob, hoping it would endear Toby to the idea of staying put.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
But that’s what endears him to his fans, who appreciate the chthonic split between the aerial skate aesthete and the grieving empath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
"There's something about blue that's calming, it endears trust without being too in your face. It's fashion diplomacy," says Kwei.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
The hothead look isn’t necessarily a good one - though Sirianni endears himself to Eagles fans when he barks at visiting fans.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
What endears you to me is your response to those people.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2023
This fac endears them tew us, and i have alwas rated the dog az about the seventh cusin tew the human specious.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
"Gebremariam endeared himself to his employees during both these black swan events, especially his backing of the pilots and engineers at Ethiopian," Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Obama endeared himself to voters, especially younger ones, by coming off as the cool college professor who manages to sound erudite without being condescending.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
Years later, she endeared herself to the public when she appeared in 2010 on the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" show where celebrities with no dance experience are paired with a professional partner.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The fact that they were subsequently stripped of that African Nations title for staging an illegal 17-minute walk-off to protest an officiating decision has only endeared them to me further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
I ain’t at all endeared to the friendliness between Jackson and Katherine.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
One of the most endearing moments in our afternoon happens when his teenage son, Callum, calls looking for something around the house.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Voice of a Century” is not intended to supplant Allan Keiler’s definitive 2000 biography—one of Mr. Tommasini’s main sources, along with Anderson’s endearing but circumspect 1956 autobiography, “My Lord, What a Morning.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
It was an unforgettable showcase for O’Flynn, who up to that point had been mostly on the edges of the action as a socially awkward and endearing mayoral assistant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
"He's very endearing, always in a good mood," he said of Liverpool's new signing.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
It was awful to watch but somehow endearing.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
