adore

1 of 2

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

adorer

2 of 2

noun

ador·​er

əˈdȯrər

plural -s

: one that adores

Synonyms of adore

Verb

• 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

Verb

He's a good doctor. All his patients adore him.

They adored shopping in all the boutiques.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Among the Batman’s rogues whom the BTAS crew adored, Bane didn’t quite fit in, even beside relatively recent additions to the comics. — Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

The core of this roster has been scrutinized and adored and despised for years. — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026

But many of its adoring fans have little idea of its origins, which reach back thousands of years to pre-Hispanic, Mesoamerican cultures in Mexico. — Alfredo Sosa, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026

That was a two-man show—the perfect rivalry between two handsome, athletic stars adored by the tennis world. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1572, in the meaning defined above

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

Verb

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