esteem
Americanverb (used with object)
-
esteems,
present (3rd person singular)
-
esteemed,
past participle, past
-
esteeming
present participle
noun
-
favorable opinion or judgment; respect or regard.
to hold a person in esteem.
- Synonyms:
- veneration, reverence, honor, admiration, favor
-
Archaic. opinion or judgment; estimation; valuation.
verb
-
to have great respect or high regard for
to esteem a colleague
-
formal to judge or consider; deem
to esteem an idea improper
noun
-
high regard or respect; good opinion
-
archaic judgment; opinion
Usage
What are other ways to say esteem? If you esteem someone, you hold them in high regard. How is esteem different from appreciate, value, and prize? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
See respect.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
esteemsimple
-
esteemssimple
-
have esteemedperfect
-
has esteemedperfect
-
am esteemingprogressive
-
are esteemingprogressive
-
is esteemingprogressive
-
have been esteemingperfect progressive
-
has been esteemingperfect progressive
Past
-
esteemedsimple
-
had esteemedperfect
-
was esteemingprogressive
-
were esteemingprogressive
-
had been esteemingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of esteem
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English estemen, from Middle French estimer, from Latin aestimāre “to fix the value of”
Explanation
Esteem is all about respect and admiration. If you have high self-esteem, it means you like yourself. When you say, "My esteemed colleagues," you are saying you have nothing but the highest respect for them. Esteem derives from the same Latin word that gives us estimate, and back in the day, esteem, like estimate meant "to assess, or judge the value of something." That sense lingers today. When you say you hold someone in high esteem, it means you give them a high value. Unless you're a politician, in which case, when you say, "I hold my opponent in high esteem," you are most likely to follow that statement with a big "But...."
Vocabulary lists containing esteem
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Things Fall Apart
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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:
Chevron’s pole position garnered it some measure of political esteem in Washington and Caracas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens, Councillor Dawn Huggins, said Norman Irwin was held in high esteem across the borough and had taken part in many council events over the years.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
It’s been a beacon of democracy since its founding, and countries all over the world have held it in such high esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
A French speaker, Leo had expressed on various occasions "the great esteem in which he holds our country and her spiritual history", Aveline said earlier in May.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem in which she is generally held.”
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
“I know that he esteems her a lot, like all the Jesuits of Argentina and Uruguay, because they consider her their spiritual mother,” Correale told The Associated Press in the runup to the ceremony.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 11, 2024
The great irony, or the sublime absurdity, is that like a priest who practices his faith after the death of God, Daoud esteems Camus even as he exposes the Nobel Prize-winning writer’s blind spots.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 1, 2015
PEN esteems not only exquisite literature, but also the right of all people to express themselves.
From Slate ● May 6, 2015
This is not contributing to a culture that esteems them.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2012
Whatever man loves or esteems highly, he endeavours to represent to himself by symbols.
From Four Years in France or, Narrative of an English Family's Residence there during that Period; Preceded by some Account of the Conversion of the Author to the Catholic Faith by Henry Digby Beste
In September, in addition to Perry’s book, they’ll also be publishing two novels by esteemed French writer Marie Darrieussecq.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
In a country that esteemed practicality, fiction was enlisted to speak directly to a cause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
"This was science in action!" esteemed melanoma surgeon John Thompson AO said in a statement paying tribute to his friend.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Immigrants lived near the mission, and esteemed Spanish Mexican families lived in large mansions around the churches that dot Old Town in the mid-19th century — many came post-Spanish-Mexican wars.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
The very next morning, Prince Faisal’s son, in person, informed me that by the will and decree of his esteemed father, I was to be a State Guest.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
What nudged Americans from esteeming fastidious high-culture figures like Muck to idolizing personally crude pop-culture stars like Ruth?
From Washington Post ● Jun. 4, 2020
The Russians, esteeming ceremony as a proud proletarian power should, outdid themselves in welcome.
From Time Magazine Archive
So the merchant, esteeming her a lady of family and estate, demanded her hand in marriage of her father and of all her friends.
From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Eugene Mason
He was humiliated by this witness whom he could not deceive, and whom he could not help esteeming.
From The Children of Alsace Les Oberl?s by Ren? Bazin
Giuseppe Rivola, employed for private persons more than for the public, is also deserving of mention, his fellow citizens esteeming him among the best of Abbiati's pupils.
From The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. IV (of 6) from the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century by Luigi Antonio Lanzi
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