noun
-
something that endears, such as an affectionate utterance
-
the act or process of endearing or the condition of being endeared
Etymology
Origin of endearment
Explanation
Next time you cringe when a family member calls you by your childhood nickname in public, remember, Snoopy, it's just a term of endearment — meant to show affection, not make you miserably embarrassed. When you break apart the word endearment, you probably recognize the word endear, a verb that means "to make admired or beloved." The suffix -ment can turn a verb into a noun, so endearment is something that shows affection or admiration, like calling someone "my love" instead of his or her name or playfully whacking your brother on the head when you walk by where he sits, doing his homework.
Vocabulary lists containing endearment
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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.
It could be a term of endearment from friends, because I grew up being friends with a lot of skater kids that would call each other “the worst.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
"I've never really thought of it as an insult, more a term of endearment," he says.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
The word can apply to someone of any age, or any gender, as she and all the kids know; “babygirl” is now a slang term of endearment for a cute, appealing man.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2025
It could be a term of endearment, people saying that they love you for your Blackness, or it could be an insult and an attack.
From Salon • Mar. 16, 2024
She thinks it’s funny, what she calls a term of endearment.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
