endearing
Syllables: en·dear·ingUK/ɪnˈdɪəɹɪŋ//ɪnˈdɪɹɪŋ/
endearing adjective: inspiring affection or love, often in a childlike way. Also the present participle and gerund of endear.
Adjective
endearing (comparative more endearing, superlative most endearing)
- Inspiring affection or love, often in a childlike way.
- […] I dare not call him father, nor he, without shame, own me as his issue, I being illegitimate, and therefore deprived of that endearing tenderness and unparalleled satisfaction which a good man finds in the love and conversation of a parent.1711 November 2 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “MONDAY, October 23, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 203; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a...
- BELIEVE me, if all those endearing young charms, / Which I gaze on so fondly to-day, / Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms, / Like fairy-gifts fading away,— / Thou wouldst stil be ador'd as this moment thou art, / Let thy loveliness fade as it will; / And around the dear ruin each...1808, John [Andrew] Stevenson, Thomas Moore, “Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms”, in A Selection of Irish Melodies. […], second number, London: Printed and sold at J. Power's Music &...
- Synonyms:
- cute
- Antonyms:
- unendearing
Noun
endearing (plural endearings)
- Synonym of endearment.
- It was arms around, and perpetual endearings, and all that I had missed for a weary twelve-month.1919 September, Jack London, “On the Makaloa Mat”, in On the Makaloa Mat, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 23
- Synonyms:
- endearment
Also used as
endearing is also the present participle and gerund of endear.
Examples of endearing in a sentence
- The infant's goos and gahs were endearing.
- He is a well-thought-of and endearing old fellow.
- Charm is his most endearing property.
Synonyms of endearing
Antonyms
Forms of endearing
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more endearing |
| superlative | most endearing |
| Noun | |
| plural | endearings |
Origin of endearing
From endear + -ing.
Words formed from endearing
Words that rhyme with endearing
Questions about endearing
- What does endearing mean?
- Endearing means inspiring affection or love, often in a childlike way.
- What part of speech is endearing?
- Endearing can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce endearing?
- Endearing is pronounced /ɪnˈdɪəɹɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near endearing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: endearing (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-endearing.flac, en-au-endearing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “endearing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/endearing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.