Definition of 'dear'
Word forms: dearer, dearest, dears
1. adjective [ADJ n]
You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for.
2. adjective [v-link ADJ to n]
3. adjective [ADJ n]
4. convention
5. vocative noun
6. exclamation
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
dear
Word Frequency
dear in American English
adjective
1.
much
loved; beloved
2.
much valued; highly thought of;
esteemed
used with a title or name as a polite form of address, as in writing letters Dear Sir
3.
noun
7.
a loved person; darling
often a term of affectionate address interjection
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈcostly
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
dearly (ˈdearly)
adverb
dearness (ˈdearness)
noun
Word origin
ME dere < OE deore, precious, costly, beloved, akin to Du duur, Ger teuerWord Frequency
dear in British English
adjective
2.
exclamation
7.
adverb
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
dearness (ˈdearness) noun
Word origin
Old English dēore; related to Old Norse dӯrrExamples of 'dear' in a sentence
dear
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In other languages
dear
British English: dear
/dɪə/ ADJECTIVE
friend You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for.
Mrs Cavendish is a dear friend of mine.
- American English: dear loved
- Arabic: عَزِيز
- Brazilian Portuguese: querido
- Chinese: 亲爱的
- Croatian: dragi
- Czech: milovaný
- Danish: kære
- Dutch: dierbaar
- European Spanish: querido
- Finnish: rakas
- French: cher aimé
- German: lieb
- Greek: αγαπητός
- Italian: caro
- Japanese: 親愛な
- Korean: 사랑하는
- Norwegian: kjær
- Polish: kochany
- European Portuguese: querido
- Romanian: drag
- Russian: дорогой
- Spanish: querido
- Swedish: kär
- Thai: ซึ่งเป็นที่รักยิ่ง
- Turkish: sevgili
- Ukrainian: любий
- Vietnamese: thân yêu
British English: dear
/dɪə/ ADJECTIVE
expensive Something that is dear costs a lot of money.
Taxis here are too dear.
- American English: pricey expensive
- Arabic: غَالٍ
- Brazilian Portuguese: custoso
- Chinese: 昂贵的
- Croatian: skup
- Czech: drahý
- Danish: dyr kostbar
- Dutch: duur
- European Spanish: caro
- Finnish: kallis
- French: cher onéreux
- German: teuer Person
- Greek: πολύτιμος
- Italian: costoso
- Japanese: 高価な expensive
- Korean: 비싼
- Norwegian: dyr kostbar
- Polish: drogi kosztowny
- European Portuguese: caro
- Romanian: scump
- Russian: дорогой
- Spanish: costoso
- Swedish: dyr
- Thai: มีราคาสูง
- Turkish: pahalı
- Ukrainian: дорогий
- Vietnamese: đắt đỏ
British English: dear NOUN
You can call someone dear as a sign of affection.
You're a lot like me, dear.
Nearby words of
dear
Related terms of
dear
Source
Definition of dear from the
Collins English Dictionary
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