Meaning & use
admire
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To respect and approve of someone because of their qualities or achievements.
Grammar: Takes an object directly; for the reason use for: admire her for her honesty.
Patterns
- admire someone
- admire someone for something
I admire my grandmother for her courage.
Many students admire their science teacher.
We admire how calmly she handled the crisis.
verbtransitive
To look at something with pleasure because it is beautiful or impressive.
Grammar: Takes an object: admire the view.
Patterns
- admire something
They stopped to admire the view from the hill.
He admired the old paintings on the wall.
Word forms
| third person singular | admires |
|---|---|
| past tense | admired |
| past participle | admired |
| -ing form | admiring |
Common combinations
- admire someone for
- I admire him for speaking honestly.
- greatly admire
- She greatly admires his work.
- admire the view
- We sat and admired the view.
- openly admire
- Critics openly admired the new design.
- admire from afar
- He quietly admired her from afar.
Synonyms and how they differ
- respect
- Is about esteem for someone's character and does not need any feeling of delight.
- look up to
- Is a casual phrase for seeing someone as a role model.
- appreciate
- Means to value something properly, and has no sense of looking at beauty.
- esteem
- Is formal and suggests high regard built up over time.
Opposites
Word family
- admiration noun
- warm respect or pleasure
- admirer noun
- a person who admires someone
- admirable adjective
- deserving respect
- admiring adjective
- showing approval
Commonly confused: admire or adore?
admire vs adore
Adore means to love deeply, which is stronger and more emotional than admire.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
Admire takes a direct object (her) and uses for to give the reason. It does not take a preposition before the object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “admire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.