admirable
Americanadjective
-
worthy of admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or affection.
- Synonyms:
- praiseworthy, estimable
- Antonyms:
- reprehensible, disreputable, unworthy
-
excellent; first-rate.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- admirability noun
- admirableness noun
- admirably adverb
- superadmirable adjective
- superadmirableness noun
- superadmirably adverb
- unadmirable adjective
- unadmirableness noun
- unadmirably adverb
Etymology
Origin of admirable
From the Latin word admīrābilis, dating back to 1590–1600. See admire, -able
Explanation
Someone who deserves your admiration can be described as admirable. Your friend who saves homeless kittens in his spare time? An admirable person. An action can be admirable, like when you stop to help someone who's slipped and fallen on an icy sidewalk. A person can also be admirable, like your uncle who works building schools in Sri Lanka. If you admire someone for a good reason, that makes them admirable, or deserving of your respect and admiration. When you pronounce admirable, you stress the first syllable, ad, unlike admire, which has the emphasis on the last syllable, mire.
Vocabulary lists containing admirable
Positive Words to Describe People, List 1
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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"The Man in the Water" by Roger Rosenblatt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Run by Wellington Management—where Bogle worked before Vanguard—the fund boasts more than $110 billion in assets and an admirable record.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
A second friendly defeat in four days was no calamity since it came on the back of an admirable performance, unworthy of booing.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were adventurers, and while perhaps not personally admirable, they changed history and changed it irrevocably:
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
With these offices vacant, the task fell upon district courts to name interim U.S. attorneys, which they did with admirable professionalism.
From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026
I don’t yet know that a man can be admirable in many ways but a jerk in others.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
