endear

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ɪnˈdɪr/ UK /ɪnˈdɪə/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to make beloved or cause to be liked

Her warmth quickly endeared her to the whole neighborhood.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make beloved or cause to... ingratiate charm attach commend

Opposites

alienate estrange repel

Word family

Derived forms endearmentendearingendearingly

Related forms dear dearness

Etymology

From en- ('to make') + dear (from Old English dēore 'precious, beloved'), formed in English to mean 'make dear or beloved'.

dēore Old English *diurjaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# endear

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈdɪr
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈdɪə

## Meanings
1. to make beloved or cause to be liked

## Examples
- Her warmth quickly endeared her to the whole neighborhood.

## Synonyms
- ingratiate
- charm
- attach
- commend

## Antonyms
- alienate
- estrange
- repel

## Derived Forms
- endearment
- endearing
- endearingly

## Related Forms
- dear
- dearness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dēore
- Root: *diurjaz

## Etymology
From en- ('to make') + dear (from Old English dēore 'precious, beloved'), formed in English to mean 'make dear or beloved'.

## AI Etymology
Endear comes from en- ('to make') + dear (from Old English dēore 'precious, beloved'), formed in English to mean 'make dear or beloved'. The etymological trail includes Old English dēore and Proto-Germanic *diurjaz. As a verb, endear means to make beloved or cause to be liked. The same family is visible in derived forms such as endearment, endearing, and endearingly and related forms such as dear and dearness. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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