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

Whether driven by admiration or nostalgia for his first spell, the club’s fans flooded the comments section welcoming back their hero. — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Firefighters battled the blaze inside the village and saved all the local homes, even if two barns went up in flames, Moreno said, adding that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as the soccer players who won the World Cup on Sunday. — ABC News, 22 July 2026

First seen in flashback as Antinous (Robert Pattinson) tells Penelope (Anne Hathaway) of his youthful admiration of Odysseus, the young Antinous (Raimy Lang, with his incredibly Pattinson-ish cheekbones) goes with the King of Ithaca on a hunt. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 21 July 2026

Mark Kelly’s résumé and the goodwill he’s accrued as Gabby Giffords’s spouse have granted him a high level of admiration. — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 20 July 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