dear Hear it!

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dear definition

dear (dir)

adjective

  1. much loved; beloved
  2. much valued; highly thought of; esteemed: used with a title or name as a polite form of address, as in writing letters Dear Sir
  3. high-priced; costly
  4. earnest; fervent our dearest wish

Etymology: ME dere < OE deore, precious, costly, beloved, akin to Du duur, Ger teuer

adverb

  1. with deep affection
  2. at a high cost

noun

  1. a loved person; darling: often a term of affectionate address
  2. an endearing person; one who arouses gentle affection, tenderness, or gratitude

interjection

used to express distress, surprise, pity, etc., usually in phrases oh, dear!dear me! dear God!

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms dear idiom

dear Synonyms

dear

modif.

  1. High in one's affections

    loved, precious, endeared, cherished; see beloved.

  2. High in price

    costly, prized, high-priced; see expensive, valuable 1. See syn. study at expensive.


dear

n.

loved one, sweetheart, love; see darling 2, favorite, lover 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

dear Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • poor: Poor little dears, how glad they will be to come.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: It will simply discourage owners from selling, and the badly devised levy will make land still dearer.

Modifies a noun

  • grandad: Loving husband of Catherine, much loved dad of Dawn, father-in-law of Philip, dearest grandad of Shelley and Kevin.

Modifying Another Word

  • much: I thought this large for the tool, and wondered if the first-hand rackets were much dearer.

Used with adjective complement

  • hold: At last, I steeled myself and swore on all that I hold dearest that it would be out early in November.

Preposition: for

  • consumer: The reason seems obvious: outputs may be dearer for the consumers, but inputs are cheaper for the producers.

Preposition: than

  • life: There is something dearer than life to me, and to God there was something more precious than even the blood of his Son.
dear usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

dear quotes

Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas. Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth.

-Aristotle

Oh! too convincingödangerously dearö In woman's eye the unanswerable tear!

-Rochdale

'Tis sweet to win, no matter how, one's laurels By blood or ink; 'tis sweet to put an end To strife; 'tis sometimes sweet to have our quarrels, Particularly with a tiresome friend; Sweet is old wine in bottles, ale in barrels; Dear is the helpless creature we defend Against the world; and dear the schoolboy spot We ne'er forget, though there we are forgot.

-Rochdale

dear quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"dear." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/dear>

APA Style

dear. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/dear

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