ardor

American  

[ahr-der] / ˈɑr dər /

especially British, ardour

noun

• ardors
  plural

1. 

   great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion.

   She spoke persuasively and with ardor.

   Synonyms:

   intensity, earnestness, spirit, fervency

2. intense devotion, eagerness, or enthusiasm; zeal.

   his well-known ardor for Chinese art.

3. burning heat.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ardors
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ardor

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to ārd ( ēre ) to burn + -or -or ¹; replacing Middle English ardure < Old French ardur < Latin, as above; 17th century ardour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

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Explanation

Are you inspired to write love poems to your crush? Sprinkle rose petals in her path? Then you're feeling ardor — an intense kind of warmth and fervor most often associated with love. The Brits spell ardor with an extra vowel, so you'll often see this word written as ardour. But on either side of the pond it's a noun that brings to mind Pepe Le Pew and his fervent pursuit of the female species. But ardor isn't always about love. It's perfectly platonic to be "an ardent supporter" of a certain cause, or show eagerness and ardor in your approach to anything.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ardor ardors

The wait does not seem to have cooled anyone's ardor.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Freud speculated that the “oceanic feeling” of religious ardor replicated the love that infants feel for their mothers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

A fetching lass in Regency garb and her paramour, confessing his ardor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

That hasn’t dimmed the ardor of rich Indian families for pre-IPO investment yet, Pasupuleti says.

From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025

She went on that way, silent hour after silent hour; she had done nothing else for thirty-eight evenings now, and each time, her ardor deepened, her thoughts became more pure.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

Neither he nor manager Dave Roberts care to attribute the dip in production to the ardors of catching nearly every game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2023

Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to “La La Land,” his swooning valentine to the movie musical, more closely resembles the film that preceded it, “Whiplash,” in its visceral attention to the rigors and ardors of achieving greatness.

From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2019

The boundless aspirations and ardors of young people are themselves the core of his romanticism.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 16, 2017

I also insist that to a billion contemporary Chinese, Mao Tse-tung has a lot more to answer for than the merry chaos and inscrutable epigrams this opera uses to recall his reckless ardors.

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2011

So for Lilla he took on such importance that everything else in life turned insignificant: old ardors were all consumed in this new ardor at once conquering and maternal, vainglorious and passionately grateful.

From Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman

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Related Words

• eagerness
• earnestness
• fervor
• intensity
• passion
• warmth
• zeal

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