Definitions for dear
dɪərdear

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.0 / 6 votes

1. beloved, dear, dearest, honey, lovenoun

   a beloved person; used as terms of endearment

2. lamb, dearadjective

   a sweet innocent mild-mannered person (especially a child)

3. beloved, darling, dearadjective

   dearly loved

4. dear, good, nearadjective

   with or in a close or intimate relationship

   "a good friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear"

5. dear, devout, earnest, heartfeltadjective

   earnest

   "one's dearest wish"; "devout wishes for their success"; "heartfelt condolences"

6. costly, dear(p), high-priced, pricey, pricyadverb

   having a high price

   "costly jewelry"; "high-priced merchandise"; "much too dear for my pocketbook"; "a pricey restaurant"

7. dearly, affectionately, dearadverb

   with affection

   "she loved him dearly"; "he treats her affectionately"

8. dearly, dearadverb

   at a great cost

   "he paid dearly for the food"; "this cost him dear"

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DEARadjective

   Etymology: deor, Saxon.

   1. Beloved; favourite; darling.

   Your brother Glo’ster hates you.
   —— Oh, no, he loves me, and he holds me dear. William Shakespeare, R. III.

   The dear, dear name she bathes in flowing tears,
   Hangs o’er the tomb. Joseph Addison, Ovid. Metam. b. ii.

   And the last joy was dearer than the rest. Alexander Pope.

   2. Valuable; of a high price; costly.

   What made directors cheat the South sea year?
   To feed on ven’son when it sold so dear. Alexander Pope.

   3. Scarce; not plentiful; as, a dear year.4. It seems to be sometimes used in William Shakespeare for deer; sad; hateful; grievous.

   What foolish boldness brought thee to their mercies, Whom thou in terms so bloody, and so dear,
   Hast made thine enemies? William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.

   Let us return,
   And strain what other means is left unto us
   In our dear peril. William Shakespeare, Timon.

   Some dear cause
   Will in concealment wrap me up a-while:
   When I am known aright, you shall not grieve
   Lending me this acquaintance. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   Would I had met my dearest foe in heav’n,
   Or ever I had seen that day. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   Thy other banish’d son, with this dear sight
   Struck pale and bloodless. William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus.

2. Dearnoun

   A word of endearment.

   That kiss
   I carried from thee, dear; and my true lip
   Hath virgin’d it e’er since. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   Go, dear; each minute does new danger bring. Dryden.

   See, my dear,
   How lavish nature has adorn’d the year. Dryden.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dear

   Dear Mama" is a song by Zambian singer and songwriter B Flow and the title track from his fifth studio album Dear Mama (2016). It was written and composed by B Flow with production handled by Killa Beats 'KB'. It was released in March 2016, as the lead single from the album. "Dear Mama" is a song where B Flow tells a story of the problems faced during his childhood and he cries out why his late mother – the Genesis of his victory story is not here to dine to the success. He also reminisces about the Kabwe days.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. dear

   Dear is an adjective commonly used as a salutation in written or formal correspondence to address the recipient in a warm, friendly, or respectful manner, often indicating a level of familiarity or close relationship. It is typically followed by the recipient's name or a term of endearment. Additionally, dear can also be used to describe a person or thing that is cherished, highly valued, or loved.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 4 votes

1. Dear

   bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive

2. Dear

   marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price; as, a dear year

3. Dear

   highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious

4. Dear

   hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention

5. Dear

   of agreeable things and interests

6. Dear

   of disagreeable things and antipathies

7. Dearnoun

   a dear one; lover; sweetheart

8. Dearadverb

   dearly; at a high price

9. Dearverb

   to endear

10. Etymology: [OE. dere, deore, AS. dere; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer, teuer, Icel. drr, Dan. & Sw. dyr. Cf. Darling, Dearth.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:4.6 / 9 votes

1. Dear

   dēr, adj. high in price: costly: scarce: highly valued: beloved: (Shak.), earnest, inmost.—n. one who is dear or beloved.—adv. at a high price.—adj. Dear′-bought.—n. Dear′ling (Spens.), a darling.—adj. Dear′-loved.—adv. Dear′ly.—ns. Dear′ness; Dear′y, one who is dear. [A.S. deóre, dýre; cog. with Ger. theuer.]

2. Dear

   dēr, interj. indicating surprise, pity, or other emotion, as in 'Oh dear!' 'Dear me!' 'Dear, dear!'—prob. elliptical in 'Dear help us!' &c. [Sometimes doubtfully referred to Dio mio (It. 'My God'), or to some compound of Fr. Dieu.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DEAR

   What does DEAR stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the DEAR acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

2. Dear

   Dear vs. Deer -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Dear and Deer.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DEAR

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dear is ranked #8906 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Dear surname appeared 3,677 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Dear.
   
   66.9% or 2,460 total occurrences were White.
   24.2% or 893 total occurrences were Black.
   3.2% or 118 total occurrences were Asian.
   2.7% or 102 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   2.3% or 86 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.4% or 18 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dear' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3027

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dear' in Written Corpus Frequency: #550

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dear' in Nouns Frequency: #2146

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dear' in Adjectives Frequency: #329

Anagrams for dear »

1. dare

2. daer

3. read

4. ared

How to pronounce dear?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dear in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dear in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dear in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of dear in a Sentence

1. Ellie Hamby:

   For almost two days, we were a rocking and rolling and a slipping and sliding through the Drake Passage and we were holding on for dear life, it was just wild.

2. Paul McCartney:

   I ’m proud to think of the huge influence Kanye West has had on people all around the world. ... Kanye West star will shine in the sky forever, the Rolling Stones are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the death of our dear friend David Bowie.

3. Henry Louis Mencken:

   A formula for answering controversial letters -- without even reading the letters Dear Sir (or Madame) You may be right.

4. Montagu Butler:

   Would you, my dear young friends, like to be inside with the five wise virgins, or outside, alone and in the dark with the five foolish ones.

5. Sergiy Kyslytsya:

   It’s too late, my dear colleagues, to speak about de-escalation, i call on every one of you to do everything possible to stop the war.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=dear
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=dear
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dear
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=dear
7. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html