endear
Americanverb (used with object)
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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:
Closer to home, securing a deal in Venezuela would endear Exxon to President Trump, who is pushing for U.S. energy companies to invest $100 billion to repair the country’s dilapidated oil-and-gas infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
But another spring meltdown will not endear himself to new owners who expect their coaches to be the calm face of the organization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Not how you endear yourself to the locals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 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
Unsurprisingly, the Battle of Bataan does little to endear Filipinos to their occupiers.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
What endears her most about her local community is the safety and security.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2024
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
I hope that "Pearl" endears itself to people because there isn't anything out there like it.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2022
It’s the humanity of this fellow Hawkins that endears him to me.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2022
“Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.”
From The Carleton Case by Clark, Ellery H.
She endeared herself to the British 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. 13, 2026
The Kentucky incumbent had built his own quirky libertarian brand over the years which endeared him to many on the right.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
The same rough edges that endeared Porter to many voters have also alienated some Democratic insiders and interest groups whose support could prove critical in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Kahan launched the Busyhead Project, a nonprofit devoted to destigmatizing mental health issues, in 2023, and his recent on-screen candor has only endeared him further to his fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
So the fact that I did speak African languages immediately endeared me to the black kids.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Their wide-eyed optimism and curiosity is endearing and even motivating.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
He sat for a warmly endearing Q&A with actor Luke Wilson and director James L. Brooks, an early champion who executive-produced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
He described the vows as "long, entertaining, personal, charming, emotional, irreverent and endearing explorations by each" about how they met and why they wanted to be married.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
His obsession with late-night television is almost endearing, like a child who bursts into tears on their birthday because someone smooshed a cupcake into their cheek.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, offkey, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made it sit up for little pieces of raw steak.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
