ad ‧ mire S3 /ədˈmaɪə $ -ˈmaɪr/ BrE AmE verb [transitive not in progressive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ admirable , ADMIRED , ↑ admiring ; noun : ↑ admiration , ↑ admirer ; adverb : ↑ admirably , ↑ admiringly ; verb : ↑ admire ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: admirer , from Latin admirari , from ad- 'to' + mirari 'to wonder' ]
1 . to respect and like someone because they have done something that you think is good:
I really admire the way she brings up those kids all on her own.
admire somebody for (doing) something
Lewis was much admired for his work on medieval literature.
2 . to look at something and think how beautiful or impressive it is:
We stopped halfway to admire the view.
Sal stood back to admire her work.
3 . admire somebody from afar literary to be attracted to someone, without letting them know
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THESAURUS
▪ admire to like someone because they have achieved something special, or they have skills or qualities that you would like to have:
I admire your courage.
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She admired him for the way he dealt with the situation.
▪ respect to have a good opinion of someone, even if you do not agree with them, for example because they have achieved a lot or have high standards:
She is respected by all her colleagues at the university.
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She’s an actor who is not prepared to compromise, and her audience loves and respects her for that.
▪ revere /rɪˈvɪə $ -ˈvɪr/ formal to greatly admire someone because of their achievements and personal qualities, especially someone famous:
Mandela is revered as one of the great leaders of our time.
▪ look up to somebody to admire someone who is older or who has more experience than you:
All the young comedians look up to him.
▪ think highly of somebody to think that someone is good at what they do:
His teachers seem to think very highly of him.
▪ idolize to admire someone so much that you think they are perfect – used especially about famous people or people in your family:
He idolized his brother.
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Jane grew up idolizing Princess Diana.
▪ hero-worship to admire someone a lot and want to be like them – often used when this seems unreasonable or extreme:
She hero-worshipped John to such an extent that she was blind to his faults.