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

Happily, Mr. Hamilton, who retains his boyish handsomeness, infuses this recollected ardor with convincing feeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

Investors could well lose some ardor for Ferrari if it can’t get the electric rollout right.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025

Van Patten and De Domenico plausibly capture that youthful ardor while making it obvious why their displays of affection translate poorly to local police officials unprepared to investigate a murder that quickly drew international scrutiny.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025

The prison sentences that often attended their activism did nothing to quell their ardor.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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

Domesticity, its ardors and rigors, unspoken binds and compacts, was one of Merrill’s major subjects.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 6, 2015

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

And he discreetly veils his ardors for the time, and the wonderful letters run on.

From The Brownings Their Life and Art by Lilian Whiting

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Related Words

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

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