admiration

noun

ad·​mi·​ra·​tion ˌad-mə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce admiration (audio)
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

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 Such widespread admiration of a Japanese player would have been unimaginable as recently as 15 years ago, when baseball games between Japan and South Korea were as politically charged as soccer games between Argentina and England or India and Pakistan. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Another point of fan admiration for you this season was your braces. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024 Church says the idea for the residency was inspired in part by his admiration for Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway production. Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2024 Farley has highlighted admiration for his wife and this time spent with their children. Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024 Reznick blames the shift on former president Donald Trump, who has expressed admiration for Putin, criticized Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and declined to say which side should win the war. Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024 Narcissists are renowned for their insatiable need for admiration, their sense of entitlement and their lack of empathy towards others. Mark Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Some of this obviously has to do with long-standing admiration for Murphy, the kind of actor who seldom calls attention to himself, and whose quiet moral implosion in the final act is all the more devastating for it. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2024 The admiration goes both ways for the actor and his wife, who married in 2019. Kara Nesvig, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'admiration.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of admiration was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near admiration

Cite this Entry

“Admiration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admiration. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

admiration

noun
ad·​mi·​ra·​tion ˌad-mə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce admiration (audio)
1
: an object of admiring regard
2
: a feeling of great and delighted approval

More from Merriam-Webster on admiration

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