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Dear   /dɪr/   Listen
adjective
Dear  adj.  (compar. dearer; superl. dearest)  
1.
Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive. "The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear."
2.
Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price; as, a dear year.
3.
Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious. "Hear me, dear lady." "Neither count I my life dear unto myself." "And the last joy was dearer than the rest." "Dear as remember'd kisses after death."
4.
Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention.
(a)
Of agreeable things and interests. "(I'll) leave you to attend him: some dear cause Will in concealment wrap me up awhile." "His dearest wish was to escape from the bustle and glitter of Whitehall."
(b)
Of disagreeable things and antipathies. "In our dear peril." "Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Or ever I had seen that day."



noun
Dear  n.  A dear one; lover; sweetheart. "That kiss I carried from thee, dear."



adverb
Dear  adv.  Dearly; at a high price. "If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear."



verb
Dear  v. t.  To endear. (Obs.)






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Dear" Quotes from Famous Books



... beautiful practice has always prevailed of giving a boy his mother's name— preceded and strengthened by a male name, as Charles Anne, Victor Victoire. In cases where a mother's memory has been unusually dear to a son, this vocal memento of her, locked into the circle of his own name, gives to it the tenderness of a testamentary relic, or a funeral ring. I presume, therefore, that La Pucelle must have borne the baptismal name of Jeanne Jean; the latter with no reference, perhaps, to so sublime ...
— The English Mail-Coach and Joan of Arc • Thomas de Quincey

... hardly to be explained away: we can close our eyes and see Micawber, Mrs. Gamp, Pegotty, Dick Swiveller, the Artful Dodger, Joe Gargery, Tootles, Captain Cutter, and a hundred more, and their sayings, quaint and dear, are like household companions. And this is true in equal measure of no other story-maker who has used English speech—it may be doubted if it is true to like degree ...
— Masters of the English Novel - A Study Of Principles And Personalities • Richard Burton

... think so, dear?" absently asked Audrey, in whom the scene had induced profound reflections upon ...
— The Lion's Share • E. Arnold Bennett

... such a thing as that be hoped? Lift up thine eyes, lost woman, to yon hills; It must be thence expected: look not down Unto that horrid dwelling, which thou hast sought At such dear rate to purchase. Prithee, tell me, (For now I can ...
— Discovery of Witches - The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster • Thomas Potts

... of a week's board. The ordinary rate of farm wages was 2s. a day except for such work as mowing, framing, hoeing corn, and raking hay, for which the rate was 2s. 6d. a day. The wages of a woman servant were 10s. a month and as all articles of clothing were very dear compared with modern prices, they became excessively so when the rate of wages was taken into account. It took a whole month's wages to purchase a pair of stays and two months wages to buy a gown. A pair of silk mits cost 5s. 6d. and a lawn handkerchief 6s. 6d. Calico was charged as ...
— Glimpses of the Past - History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 • W. O. Raymond


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