adore

verb \ ə-ˈdȯr \

Definition of adore

adored; adoring

transitive verb

1 :to worship or honor as a deity or as divine

2 :to regard with loving admiration and devotion

He adored his wife.

3 :to be very fond of

adores pecan pie

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adorer

noun

See adore defined for English-language learners

See adore defined for kids

Examples of adore in a Sentence

He's a good doctor. All his patients adore him.
They adored shopping in all the boutiques.

Recent Examples of adore from the Web

Jeffery handed the touchdown ball to an adoring fan sitting behind the end zone.

— zach berman, Philly.com, "Why Carson Wentz's final drive can be a 'blueprint' for Eagles offense," 26 Aug. 2017
And the Elantra had one other feature to adore: manual turn signals.

— andrew moseman, Popular Mechanics, "The Manual Car Is About More Than Shifting Gears," 19 Aug. 2017
But while some productions have reached spectacular highs (NBC’s The Wiz Live! was critically adored, while Fox’s Grease: Live won Emmys), none have been able to match Sound’s incredible viewership.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Are Live TV Musicals More Trouble Than They’re Worth?," 4 Aug. 2017
The president* went to West Virginia on Thursday night for the purpose of being publicly adored.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Even the Senate Is Fed Up with President* Trump," 4 Aug. 2017
But governing requires him to do things that don’t involve speaking to adoring audiences or burning foes and friends alike on social media.

— jonathan s. tobin, National Review, "Who Killed Obamacare Repeal? Blame Trump.," 29 July 2017
Where Spicer’s professions of praise for the president always seemed mousy, pleading, perhaps a little browbeaten, Scaramucci brought the sincere sycophancy that comes from truly adoring Donald Trump.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Anthony Scaramucci Is the Right Answer to the Wrong Question," 21 July 2017
Of course, everyone was already aware of how much Harry adores his fans.

— elizabeth pierson, Teen Vogue, "Harry Styles Stands Up for Fans During "Dunkirk" Premiere," 20 July 2017
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, six years after leaving Brazil’s presidency as a widely popular figure, now faces prison after a criminal conviction as well as vehement opposition from a segment of the population that formerly adored him.

— max fisher and amanda taub, New York Times, "Why Uprooting Corruption Has Plunged Brazil Into Chaos," 14 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adore.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of adore

Middle English adouren, from Anglo-French aurer, adourer, from Latin adorare, from ad- + orare to speak, pray — more at oration

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

adore Synonyms

Synonyms

love, cherish, worship

Antonyms

abhor, abominate, despise, detest, execrate, hate, loathe

Related Words

adulate, canonize, deify, idealize, idolize; revere, reverence, venerate; delight (in), dote (on)

Near Antonyms

antagonize, displease; disapprove (of), disfavor, dislike; disgust, nauseate, repel, repulse, revolt, sicken, turn off

Synonym Discussion of adore

revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.