English Explanatory Dictionary

dear

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. High in price; expensive.
  2. Loved; lovable.
  3. Lovely; kind.
  4. Loving, affectionate, heartfelt
  5. Precious to or greatly valued by someone.
  6. A formal way to start (possibly after my) addressing somebody at the beginning of a letter, memo etc.
  7. A formal way to start (often after my) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly.
  8. An ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior or someone one dislikes.
  9. Noble.
noun
  1. A very kind, loving person.
  2. A beloved person.
  3. An affectionate, familiar term of address, such as used between husband and wife.
  4. An elderly person, especially a woman.
verb
  1. To endear.
adv
  1. Dearly; at a high price.
intj
  1. Indicating surprise, pity, or disapproval.
adj
  1. Severe, or severely affected; sore.
  2. Fierce.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/dɪə/ /dɪɹ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-dear.wav En-us-dear.ogg /diə/ /diːɹ/ /dɛː/

Word forms

dear dearer more dear dearest most dear dears dearing deared

Etymology

From Middle English dere, from Old English dīere (“of great value or excellence, expensive, beloved”), from Proto-West Germanic *diurī, from Proto-Germanic *diurijaz (“dear, precious, expensive”). Cognate with Scots dere, deir (“of great value or worth, highly valued, precious, beloved”), Saterland Frisian djuur (“precious, dear, costly, expensive”), Dutch duur (“costly, precious”), German teuer (“costly, precious”), German Low German düür, Danish dyr (“expensive”), Swedish dyr (“expensive”), Norwegian dyr (“expensive”), Icelandic dýr (“expensive”), Yiddish טייַער (tayer, “precious, expensive”).

Synonyms

costly lickpenny spenny 5-star big-ticket chargeful cheap at half the price costful cost-prohibitive fancy dear dearthful dispendious ex expenny expensive exy high-cost million-dollar high-priced princely out of sight overdear pricey ruinous spendy spenno splurgy steep lief lovely precious beloved favoured lovable loved lovewende special benevolent benign nice compassionate benignant good-hearted kind kindhearted humane softhearted sympathetic tender tenderhearted warmhearted attentive considerate thoughtful affable cordial friendly gentle good

Related words

darling oh dear dear me

Derived words

Dear Colleague letter dear diary dear God dear heart dearheart dearie dearish Dear Jane letter dearling dear Lord dearly dear me dearness dear Sir dear sirs dearsome dearth dearworth deary elementary, my dear Watson endear endearer endearing endearment for dear life my dear fellow near and dear nearest and dearest old dear overdear please excuse my dear Aunt Sally undear unendearing hold dear oh dear the dear knows bedear cost dear

Translations

Afrikaans: beste Arabic: عَزِيز Arabic: عَزِيْزَة Armenian: հարգելի Armenian: սիրելի Armenian: մեծարգո Azerbaijani: hörmətli Azerbaijani: dəyərli Belarusian: дарагі́ Belarusian: шано́ўны Belarusian: паважа́ны Bulgarian: уважа́ем Bulgarian: драг Bulgarian: скъп Catalan: estimat Catalan: benvolgut Chinese Mandarin: 親愛的 /亲爱的 Chinese Mandarin: 尊敬的 Chinese Mandarin: 昂貴的 /昂贵的 Czech: drahý Danish: kære Dutch: beste Dutch: geachte Dutch: hooggeachte Dutch: weledele Dutch: waarde Dutch: lieve Dutch: (mijn) beste Faroese: kærur Faroese: góður Finnish: hyvä Finnish: parahin Finnish: arvon Finnish: rakas French: cher German: sehr geehrter/sehr geehrte German: lieber Greek: αγαπητέ Greek: αγαπητή Hindi: प्यारा Hindi: प्रिय Hindi: आदरणीय Hungarian: kedves Hungarian: tisztelt Hungarian: drága Hungarian: édes Irish: a chara Irish: a chairde Italian: egregio Italian: gentile Italian: caro Japanese: 拝啓 Japanese: 様 Japanese: へ Khmer: ជូនចំពោះ Central Kurdish: بەڕێز Latvian: cienītais Lithuanian: gerbiamas Macedonian: мил Macedonian: драг Mongolian: эрхэм Mongolian: хүндэт Mongolian: эрхэм хүндэт Norwegian: ærede Norwegian: kjære Pashto: ګران Persian: عزیز Polish: drogi Polish: szanowny Portuguese: prezado Portuguese: caro Portuguese: querido Portuguese: cara Romanian: stimate Romanian: dragă Russian: уважа́емый Russian: дорого́й Russian: дорога́я Serbo-Croatian: поштовани Serbo-Croatian: poštovani Slovak: drahý Slovak: vážený Slovene: dragi Spanish: estimado Spanish: querido Spanish: caro Spanish: amigo mío Spanish: amiga mía Spanish: cuate Spanish: compadre Spanish: compa mío Spanish: maestro mío Spanish: majo Spanish: guapo Sranan Tongo: lespeki Sranan Tongo: lobi Swedish: kära
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