endearment

[ en-deer-muhnt ]

noun

1. the act of endearing. endearing.
2. the state of being endeared.
3. something that endears; an action or utterance showing affection:

   to murmur endearments.

endearment

/ ɪnˈdɪəmənt /

noun

1. something that endears, such as an affectionate utterance
2. the act or process of endearing or the condition of being endeared

Word History and Origins

Origin of endearment¹

First recorded in 1605–15; endear + -ment

Example Sentences

In our texts we exchanged mutual endearments in words and emojis.

From ProPublica

Bae,” for example, is a term of endearment that is either short for “baby” or an acronym for “before anyone else.

From The Daily Beast

(She addresses me in various terms of endearment, as one would an old friend, and invites me to swim in her pool after lunch).

From The Daily Beast

“The thing that pops into my head is the Shirley MacLaine quote from Terms of Endearment,” said Emmerich.

From The Daily Beast

Terms of Endearment got made because Polly Platt was so persistent.

From The Daily Beast

My mom remembers us actually watching Terms of Endearment with my father when he was sick.

From The Daily Beast

All these things are matter of course to all Frenchmen, who are never at a loss for civility and terms of endearment.

From Project Gutenberg

He never let fall a syllable of endearment, yet Carry and the children read something in his face which said more.

From Project Gutenberg

She uttered a mild preliminary oath of endearment and suddenly ceased speaking.

From Project Gutenberg

The words of endearment, withheld so severely in his waking hours, were inexpressibly sweet to her forlorn and hungry heart.

From Project Gutenberg

The endearment is so plaintively inept that she smiles in spite of herself, and resigns herself to indulge him a little.

From Project Gutenberg