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• lear
  lear

  noun

  learning; instruction; lesson.
• Lear
  Lear

  noun

  Edward, 1812–88, English writer of humorous verse and landscape painter.

lear

¹ American  

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. learning; instruction; lesson.

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Lear ² American  

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

1. Edward, 1812–88, English writer of humorous verse and landscape painter.

2. (italics) King Lear.

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Lear British  

/ lɪə /

noun

1. Edward. 1812–88, English humorist and painter, noted for his illustrated nonsense poems and limericks

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Etymology

Origin of lear

1350–1400; late Middle English lere lesson, noun use of lere to teach, Old English lǣran; cognate with Dutch leren, German lehren, Gothic laisjan; akin to lore ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lear Lear

In this braw age o’ wit and lear, Will nane the Shepherd’s whistle mair Blaw sweetly in its native air And rural grace; And wi’ the far-fam’d Grecian share A rival place?

From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Robert Burns

He had a sort of dark down look about him, and a lear out of the corner of one eye, like a horse that's goin to kick.

From The Clockmaker — or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville by Thomas Chandler Haliburton

But aiblins honest Master Heron, Had at the time some dainty fair one, To ware his theologic care on, And holy study; And tir’d o’ sauls to waste his lear on E’en tried the body.

From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Robert Burns

The culprit passed a sleepless night in the intolerable agony of lear.

From Rattlin the Reefer by Frederick Marryat

Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band,   And the never a word of lear had he.

From Lyra Heroica A Book of Verse for Boys by Various

The English actor was also known for his collaboration with Dame Judi Dench and her husband, Michael Williams, and they starred in several stage productions together, including King Lear.

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

Words can’t really do justice to the profound musical depths Henry plumbs in this searing revival of “Ragtime,” directed by Lear deBessonet for Lincoln Center Theatre.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026

This decision will find an echo in “King Lear”; Lear, too, cites his age when giving the power to rule his kingdom to his daughters, and both characters live to rue their choices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

Palantir’s stock trades at 108 times forward earnings expectations, compared with 63 times expected earnings for Centrus Energy, about 14 times for Lennar and about 8 times for Lear, according to FactSet.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

In the spring we studied King Lear and Hamlet.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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