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

• cherish
• love
• worship

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

The balcony is where members of the family gather during certain special events and where newly married royals have waved to their adoring fans below. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024

Par 3 Contest First held in 1960, this tradition is perhaps the tournament's most adored. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2024

The trailer also captures Jackson as he’s stalked by adoring crowds and paparazzi. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a glorious sequel that delivers even more of the dynamic and thrilling action that fans of the original adored. —PCMAG, 6 Apr. 2024

This silk skirt from Everlane is under $85 and is adored by shoppers, many of whom own multiple. —Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024

And there’s not a big overlap in the Venn diagram of stuff that my kids and I both adore. —Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024

The beloved and scraggly tree is receiving quite the sendoff from adoring fans. —Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024

Disney has been trying to appeal to large institutional shareholders, such as Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street, in addition to its legion of mom and pop investors, who adore all things Disney. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024

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

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