adored; adoring

transitive verb

1
: to worship or honor as a deity or as divine
2
: to regard with loving admiration and devotion
He adored his wife.
3
: to be very fond of
adores pecan pie
adorer noun
Choose the Right Synonym for adore

revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully.

revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring.

reverenced the academy's code of honor

venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.

we adored our doctor

Examples of adore in a Sentence

He's a good doctor. All his patients adore him. They adored shopping in all the boutiques.
Recent Examples on the Web That might be a bummer to those who adored the well-over-the-top 1989 action flick starring Patrick Swayze. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024 The Strawberry Forest Pie, tart with jammy berries and rich with a thick chocolate pudding layer, is a draw for those who adore the flavors of traditional Black Forest gateau. Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 So those who tune in for the risk-takers will adore it. Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 From the stands, adoring spectators throw money down to him. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 Although Cattlemen’s was founded to satisfy its namesake population, it’s adored by Oklahomans of all kinds—not to mention visitors from across the country, including musicians, actors, and even Presidents. Katie Akin, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 By this stage, much like the work of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, the Cartoon Saloon look and feel was already well-established and adored — all their films sharing a common aesthetic thread. Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024 Galvan hired two beefy bodyguards and had friends act as fake, adoring fans, an unnecessary touch. Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024 Whiskey fans generally adore Heaven Hill’s barrel-proof whiskey lineup, which includes high-ABV bourbons from its Elijah Craig and Larceny labels. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aouren, adouren, borrowed from Anglo-French aurer, ahourer, adourer (with d restored from Latin), going back to Latin adōrāre "to plead with, appeal to, approach (a god) as a suppliant or worshipper, treat with reverence, admire," from ad- ad- + ōrāre "to pray to, beseech" — more at oration

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of adore was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near adore

Cite this Entry

“Adore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adore. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

adore

verb
ə-ˈdō(ə)r How to pronounce adore (audio)
-ˈdȯ(ə)r
adored; adoring
1
2
: to be very fond of
adoration
ˌad-ə-ˈrā-shən
noun
adorer
ə-ˈdōr-ər
-ˈdȯr-
noun
Etymology

from early French adourer "to adore," from Latin adorare (same meaning), from ad- "to" and orare "to speak, pray" — related to oracle, oration

More from Merriam-Webster on adore

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