adore

adore — verb

1. to feel a strong and warm love for a person, or to enjoy something a great deal

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to feel a strong and warm love for a person, or to enjoy something a great deal — for example, the way grandparents feel about a newborn baby, or how a child feels about chocolate ice cream.

Example

Grandma Lin absolutely adores her two grandchildren and bakes cookies for them every Sunday.

adore + noun (people)

Sven adores walking on the beach at sunset with his old golden retriever.

adore + -ing for hobbies

Common collocations
  • absolutely adore
  • simply adore
  • adore each other
Synonyms
  • love

    more general; 'adore' suggests warmer, more enthusiastic feeling

  • cherish

    emphasises caring for and protecting; less about excitement

  • dote on

    specifically about giving someone too much affection, usually a child

Antonyms
  • detest

    feel strong dislike, the opposite of strong love

  • loathe

    feel deep hatred for

Grammar Patterns

adore + noun

adore + -ing

Usage Note

Stronger than 'like' but warmer and more personal than 'love'. Often used to show enthusiasm for ordinary things (food, clothes, hobbies); rarely used in passive voice except in fixed forms like 'be adored by fans'.

Common Mistakes

I am adoring this song right now.
I adore this song.
like 'love', 'adore' is normally used in simple tenses, not the progressive form.
She adores to swim every morning.
She adores swimming every morning.
after 'adore', use the -ing form, not the to-infinitive.

2. to honour a god or sacred figure through prayer, songs, or other acts of religio

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to honour a god or sacred figure through prayer, songs, or other acts of religious devotion.

Example

On Christmas Eve, the villagers gathered in the small chapel to adore the newborn Christ.

religious context: adore + sacred figure

Pilgrims travelled for weeks across the desert to adore the relics kept in the old monastery.

Common collocations
  • adore God
  • adore the Lord
  • adore the saints
Synonyms
  • worship

    the most common neutral word for religious honour

  • venerate

    formal; show deep respect for a saint, hero, or holy thing

  • revere

    feel deep respect, often without religious ritual

Antonyms
  • blaspheme

    speak against a god; opposite of religious adoration

Grammar Patterns

adore + noun (a god / sacred figure)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: only this sense is used in religious contexts about gods or holy figures. Subject is usually a worshipper or group of believers; object is a deity, saint, or sacred object. Most common in Christian liturgy and in writing about world religions.

Common Mistakes

I adore my new phone like a god.
I adore my new phone.
sense 1 already covers strong everyday love; using sense 2 for objects sounds odd unless you really mean religious worship.

Word family

  • adoration
    nounC1
  • adoring
    adjectiveC1
  • adoringly
    adverbC2
  • adorable
    adjectiveB2
  • adorably
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe positive feelings, but they differ in strength and tone. 'Like' is the mildest and works for almost anything ('I like this coffee'). 'Love' is much stronger and covers both deep affection for people and strong enjoyment of things ('I love my kids'; 'I love pizza'). 'Adore' sits close to 'love' but adds warmth, enthusiasm, and a hint of admiration — it often appears in spoken English to show excitement, as in 'I adore your new haircut!'. 'Cherish' is quieter and more thoughtful: it stresses caring for and protecting something precious ('She cherishes the letters from her late grandfather') rather than the bright, happy feeling of 'adore'. So if you want to show open delight, choose 'adore'; if you want to show quiet, lasting devotion, choose 'cherish'.

adore ↗love ↗like ↗cherish ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • adore each other
  • be adored by fans
  • absolutely adore something

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'adore' came into English in the 14th century from Old French 'aourer', which itself goes back to the Latin verb 'adorare', built from 'ad-' ('to, towards') and 'orare' ('to speak, pray'). The original sense was religious — to address a prayer to a god or to bow down before a sacred figure. Over the centuries, English speakers stretched the meaning beyond worship to cover the strong, warm love people feel for family, friends, and even ordinary things like a favourite song or dessert.