admiration

noun

ad·​mi·​ra·​tion ˌad-mə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: a feeling of respect and approval

They had/felt great admiration for her courage.

2

: an object of esteem

… his perfect horsemanship … was one of my earliest admirations.

—Joseph Conrad

3

archaic : wonder

Synonyms of admiration

• respect
• appreciation
• regard
• praise
• adoration

Examples of admiration in a Sentence

She looked at them in admiration.

I have great admiration for her courage.

We were filled with admiration for him.

She earned the admiration of her coworkers.

I have a great admiration for her courage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Following their 1-0 victory on Teesside, future team-mates approached Rogers, informing him of Emery’s admiration. —Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026

Shanahan and Fangio’s mutual admiration Shanahan wanted to hire Philadelphia’s Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator upon arrival in San Francisco in 2017 but Fangio was under contract with the Chicago Bears. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026

Much of the prestige of the position comes in the form of outside admiration, so to damage that admiration is to get rid of one of the few perks of the job. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026

This admiration might promote a flirtation or romance with a boss or someone in authority. —Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English admiracion, borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French amiracion, going back to Old French ammiration, borrowed from Latin admīrātiōn-, admīrātiō, from admīrārī "to admire" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing admiration

• self-admiration

Rhymes for admiration

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

admiration

noun

ad·​mi·​ra·​tion ˌad-mə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: an object of admiring regard

2

: a feeling of great and delighted approval