dear

¹

[ deer ]

adjective

, dear·er, dear·est.

1. beloved or loved:

   a dear friend.

   Synonyms: darling

2. (used in the salutation of a letter as an expression of affection or respect or as a conventional greeting):

   Dear Sir.

3. precious in one's regard; cherished:

   our dearest possessions.

4. heartfelt; earnest:

   one's dearest wish.

5. high-priced; expensive:

   The silk dress was too dear.

6. charging high prices:

   That shop is too dear for my budget.

7. excessive; high:

   a dear price to pay for one's independence.

8. Obsolete. difficult to get; scarce.
9. Obsolete. worthy; honorable.

noun

1. a person who is good, kind, or generous:

   You're a dear to help me with the work.

2. a beloved one.
3. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to a stranger, subordinate, etc.)

adverb

1. dearly; fondly.
2. at a high price:

   That painting cost me dear.

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation of surprise, distress, etc.):

   Oh dear, what a disappointment! Dear me! What's all that noise?

dear

²

or dere

[ deer ]

adjective

, Archaic.

, dear·er, dear·est.

1. hard; grievous.

dear

/ dɪə /

adjective

1. beloved; precious
2. used in conventional forms of address preceding a title or name, as in Dear Sir or my dear Mr Smith
3. postpositivefoll byto important; close

   a wish dear to her heart

4. 1. highly priced
   2. charging high prices
5. appealing or pretty

   what a dear little ring!

6. for dear life
   urgently or with extreme vigour or desperation

interjection

1. used in exclamations of surprise or dismay, such as Oh dear! and dear me!

noun

1. often used in direct address someone regarded with affection and tenderness; darling

adverb

1. dearly

   his errors have cost him dear

Derived Forms

• ˈdearness, noun

Other Words From

• dearly adverb
• dearness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dear¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English dere, deire, Old English dēore, dīore, dȳre; cognate with Old High German tiuri, Old Norse dȳrr

Origin of dear²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English dere “fierce, hard,” Old English dēor “brave, bold, severe”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dear¹

Old English dēore; related to Old Norse dӯrr

Idioms and Phrases

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

Synonym Study

See expensive.

Example Sentences

The reckoning that needed to happen by the media in its normalizing of this man will now be replaced by the effort to hang on for dear life as the retribution begins.

From Salon

“A lot of people make a lot of very dear friends. ... You see them every day, and you think it’s gonna be like that for the rest of the time, and it’s not.”

From Los Angeles Times

Berry seems to appreciate that while expressing his readiness to let go of “Shadows” and his vampire while both remain dear to us.

From Salon

"I just want to take a moment to remember someone that was very, very dear to us," she told the audience.

From BBC

He was beaten up in a park for intervening in a racist incident and had to run for his "dear life" through the city centre, chased by thugs.

From BBC

Related Words

• honey