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dear

 
Dictionary: dear1   (dîr) pronunciation
adj., dear·er, dear·est.
    1. Loved and cherished: my dearest friend.
    2. Greatly valued; precious: lost everything dear to them.
  1. Highly esteemed or regarded. Used in direct address, especially in salutations: Dear Lee Dawson.
    1. High-priced; expensive.
    2. Charging high prices.
  2. Earnest; ardent: "This good man was a dear lover and constant practicer of angling" (Izaak Walton).
  3. Obsolete. Noble; worthy.
  4. Heartfelt: It is my dearest wish.
n.
  1. One that is greatly loved.
  2. An endearing, lovable, or kind person.
adv.
  1. With fondness; affectionately.
  2. At a high cost: sold their wares dear.
interj.
Used as a polite exclamation, chiefly of surprise or distress: oh dear; dear me.

[Middle English dere, from Old English dēore.]

dearly dear'ly adv.
dearness dear'ness n.

dear2 (dîr) pronunciation
adj.
Severe; grievous; sore: our dearest need.

[Middle English dere, from Old English dēor.]


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Thesaurus: dear
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adjective

  1. Regarded with much love and tenderness: beloved, darling, loved, precious. See love/hatred.
  2. Bringing a high price: costly, expensive, high, high-priced. See transactions, value/worthlessness/evaluation.

noun

    A person who is much loved: beloved, darling, honey, love, minion, precious, sweet, sweetheart, truelove. Informal sweetie. Idioms: light of one's life. See love/hatred.

Idioms: dear
Top

In addition to the idiom beginning with dear, also see for dear life; nearest and dearest.


Antonyms: dear
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adj

Definition: beloved, favorite
Antonyms: common, despised, hateful, unimportant, valueless, worthless

adj

Definition: very expensive
Antonyms: cheap, inexpensive, low-priced, valueless, worthless

n

Definition: beloved person
Antonyms: despised, hate


Word Tutor: dear
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Highly valued; precious.

pronunciation Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth. — Aristotle, (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher, student of Plato, tutor of Alexander the Great.

Translations: Dear
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - kær, elsket, værdsat, dybfølt, kostbar, dyr
n. - ven, søde
adv. - dyrt
int. - min kære

idioms:

  • Dear John    fyreseddel, brev hvori der slås op
  • dear me    du godeste
  • Dear Sir    kære Hr.

Nederlands (Dutch)
lieve(ling), schat, beste/lieve (als briefaanhef), dierbaar, duur, lief, innig

Français (French)
adj. - précieux, adorable, mignon, cher (dans une lettre), coûteux, cher
n. - amour, cher, chère, chérie
adv. - (lit, fig) cher
int. - mon Dieu (excl), vraiment, pas possible

idioms:

  • Dear John    (fig) lettre de rupture
  • dear me    mon Dieu
  • Dear Sir    Monsieur (dans une lettre)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Schatz
adj. - lieb, innig, teuer
adv. - teuer
int. - meine Güte

idioms:

  • Dear John    ein Brief von einer Frau, in dem sie sich bereits erklärt, die Beziehung, zu ihrem Freund/Ehemann zu beenden
  • dear me    ach du liebe Güte
  • Dear Sir    sehr geehrter Herr

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φίλτατος, προσφιλής
adj. - ακριβός, δαπανηρός, φίλτατος, προσφιλής
adv. - ακριβά
int. - πω πω!

idioms:

  • Dear John    Αγαπητέ Τζον
  • dear me    πω πω!
  • Dear Sir    Αξιότιμε Κύριε

Italiano (Italian)
tesoro, caro, cordiale

idioms:

  • dear me    povero me

Português (Portuguese)
n. - querido (m)
adj. - querido
adv. - caro
int. - Meu Deus!

idioms:

  • Dear John    carta terminando relação pessoal
  • dear me    Meu Deus!
  • Dear Sir    Prezado Senhor

Русский (Russian)
дорогой, милый

idioms:

  • Dear John    письмо отказа от любви/сношения
  • dear me    боже мой!
  • Dear Sir    Уважаемый Господин

Español (Spanish)
adj. - querido, sincero, profundo, caro, costoso, excesivo
n. - querido, sincero, buen, amoroso
adv. - amorosamente, sinceramente, profundamente
int. - querido!

idioms:

  • Dear John    carta donde una mujer termina la relación con su amado
  • dear me    ¡Dios mío!
  • Dear Sir    muy señor mío

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - raring
adj. - rar
adv. - rart
int. - kära

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
亲爱的, 严重的, 昂贵的, 亲爱的人, 疼爱地, 高价地, 昂贵地, 哎呀

idioms:

  • Dear John    绝情信, 绝交信
  • dear me    哦, 我的天啊!
  • Dear Sir    亲爱的先生

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 親愛的, 嚴重的, 昂貴的
n. - 親愛的人
adv. - 疼愛地, 高價地, 昂貴地
int. - 哎呀

idioms:

  • Dear John    絕情信, 絕交信
  • dear me    哦, 我的天啊!
  • Dear Sir    親愛的先生

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 친애하는, ~에게 소중한, 마음으로부터의
n. - 친애하는 사람, 착한 아이
adv. - 극진하게, 비싸게
int. - 이런!, 어머나!

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 親愛な, きれいな, 高価な, 高すぎる, 大事な, 心からの, 親愛なる
adv. - かわいがって, 高価に
n. - かわいい人, 魅力あふれる人, 親愛なる人
int. - おや

idioms:

  • Dear John    離婚要請状, 絶縁状
  • dear me    おやおや
  • Dear Sir    拝啓
  • for dear life    一所懸命, 一目散に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الحبيب, العزيز (صفه) محبوب, عزيز, ثمين (ظرف) كثيرا, بإعزاز, بثمن غال (نداء) تستخدم بوضع كلمه Oh قبلها كلفظ تعجب يعني يا إلهي, يا إلهي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮יקר, יקיר, אהוב, נחמד‬
n. - ‮אהוב, יקירי‬
adv. - ‮ביוקר, במחיר גבוה‬
int. - ‮יקירי, אוי, אהה‬


 
 
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Vespasian (Quotes By)
Dare (family name)
cheap

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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