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

Mostly, the 29-year-old veteran and 21-year-old rookie are forming one heck of a mutual admiration society. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

And there are millions more around the world who will be offering their own outpourings of love and admiration in the days to come. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026

Hemingway’s admiration of and attachment to the area is immortalized with with a memorial and free audio walking tour. — Megan Wahn, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026

Acme was developed by director Dave Green and colleagues in deep admiration of live action-animation hybrid classics like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 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