Dear has 15 different meanings across 5 categories:
Noun · Adjective · Adverb · Intj · Proper Noun
A very kind, loving person.
"After hearing about her illness, he sent a letter addressed to his dear wife filled with promises of care and support."
In plain English: A dear is an old-fashioned word for a person you love very much, like family or a close friend.
"My dear is waiting for me outside with our coffee."
Usage: Use "dear" as a noun to affectionately address or refer to a loved one, such as in the phrase "my dear." It functions primarily as a term of endearment rather than a standalone description of someone's character.
To endear.
"The little dog's wagging tail seemed to dear his way straight into my heart."
In plain English: To dear someone means to make them more important or beloved, though this usage is very rare and mostly found in old stories.
"Please dear me to your mother with my best wishes on her birthday."
Usage: The verb dear means to love or cherish deeply and should be used only when describing an intense emotional attachment, not simply as a polite greeting. It is often found in older literature or poetic contexts, such as saying someone "dears" their homeland, rather than in modern casual speech.
having a high price
"costly jewelry"
"high-priced merchandise"
"much too dear for my pocketbook"
"a pricey restaurant"
High in price; expensive.
"The flu has left my throat so dear that even swallowing water feels like sandpaper scraping against raw skin."
Severe, or severely affected; sore.
In plain English: Dear means very close to someone's heart, showing that you care about them deeply.
Usage: Use "dear" to describe something that causes severe pain or distress, such as a dear wound or a dear conscience. This meaning is archaic and rarely used in modern conversation compared to its common role as a term of endearment.
dearly; at a high price
"After spending hours waiting for the bus that never arrived, I finally caught it only to realize how dear my time had become."
In plain English: Dear means very much, as in saying you really care about someone.
"It is dear to me to see you happy."
Usage: Use "dearly" to mean paying a very high price or suffering great loss, as in "he learned that lesson dearly." Do not confuse this with the word "dear" used as an adjective to describe something expensive or someone loved.
Indicating surprise, pity, or disapproval.
"Oh dear, I completely forgot to bring my umbrella and it's starting to pour outside."
A surname.
"At the family reunion, Uncle Dear surprised everyone by announcing he was retiring from his job as a baker."
The word "dear" comes from Old English, where it originally meant something of great value, expense, or excellence. Over time, this sense of high worth evolved to describe people and things that are beloved.