adore

verb

ə-ˈdȯr 

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

adorer noun

Synonyms of adore

• love

Choose the Right Synonym for adore

revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully.

revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

a professor revered by her students

reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring.

reverenced the academy's code of honor

venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

heroes still venerated

worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

worships their memory

adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.

we adored our doctor

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 on the Web

Despite fans of the Gap brand adoring the original Happy Stripe sweater design, many found this new iteration to be lackluster in comparison. — Elizabeth Grace Coyne, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

Set in Rome, Kentucky, the first When In Rome book centers Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fanbase. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 July 2026

Keegan was desperate to awaken the sleeping Tyneside beast and get Newcastle back to the top flight and immediately announced himself to his adoring new fanbase, scoring the winning goal on his debut against Queens Park Rangers at St James’. — James Pearce, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Having Nick and Charlie end their relationship—a relationship genuinely adored by the Heartstopper fandom— was not a decision Oseman made lightly. — Barry Levitt, Time, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aouren, adouren, borrowed from Anglo-French aurer, ahourer, adourer (with d restored from Latin), going back to Latin adōrāre "to plead with, appeal to, approach (a god) as a suppliant or worshipper, treat with reverence, admire," from ad- ad- + ōrāre "to pray to, beseech" — more at oration

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for adore

• abhor
• abor
• afore
• ardour
• ashore
• backdoor
• before
• bookstore
• candour
• centaur
• claymore
• decor

Kids Definition

adore

verb

ə-ˈdō(ə)r 

-ˈdȯ(ə)r

adored; adoring

1

: worship entry 2 sense 1

adore God

2

: to be very fond of

adoration

ˌad-ə-ˈrā-shən

noun

adorer

ə-ˈdōr-ər, 

-ˈdȯr-

noun

Etymology

from early French adourer "to adore," from Latin adorare (same meaning), from ad- "to" and orare "to speak, pray" — related to oracle, oration