dear
/dɪɹ/adjective, noun, adverb, interjection
dear is spelled D-E-A-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 59 times per million words in written English, the 1,758th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “dear vs deer” about 390 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, dear means “High in price; expensive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dear?
| Letters | 4: D-E-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 59 times per million words; the 1,758th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dear?
Dear appears 59 times per million words in written English, the 1,758th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dear?
- UK /dɪə/
- US /dɪɹ/
- Australia /dɪə/
Dear has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-dear.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-dear.wav, En-us-dear.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with dear
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: deer, dere (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: deere.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with dear?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dear from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: read, dare, rade.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dear
- dearer comparative
- more dear comparative
- dearest superlative
- most dear superlative
- dears plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dearing participle, present
- deared participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dear mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
IrelandUKHigh in price; expensive.
The dearer the jewel, the greater the love expressed.
- 2
Loved; lovable.
- 3
Lovely; kind.
- 4
Loving, affectionate, heartfelt
Such dear embrace tenderly comforts even in this dear sorrow.
- 5
Precious to or greatly valued by someone.
The dearer the giver, the dearer the trinket he brings!
- 6
A formal way to start (possibly after my) addressing somebody at the beginning of a letter, memo etc.
Dear Sir/Madam/Miss, please notice our offices will be closed during the following bank holidays:[…].
- 7
A formal way to start (often after my) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly.
My dear friend, I feel better as soon as you come sit beside my sickbed!
- 8
An ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior or someone one dislikes.
My dear man, you ought to think twice about who you're trying to blackmail.
- 9
Severe, or severely affected; sore.
- 10
obsoleteFierce.
The Christens found the heathens dear, as the lion doth the bear.
noun
- 1
A very kind, loving person.
My little cousin is such a dear, always drawing me pictures.
- 2
A beloved person.
- 3
An affectionate, familiar term of address, such as used between husband and wife.
Pass me the salt, would you dear?
- 4
An elderly person, especially a woman.
adverb
- 1
Dearly; at a high price.
interjection
- 1
Indicating surprise, pity, or disapproval.
Dear, dear! Whatever were they thinking?
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo endear.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dear in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cher |
| German | lieb , teuer , sehr geehrter/sehr geehrte , lieber , Lieber , Liebchen |
| Portuguese | querido, caro , prezado |
| Spanish | querido, caro , precioso , estimado , amable, tierno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dear come from?
From Middle English dere, from Old English dēore, dīere, dīore, dȳre (“of great value or excellence, expensive, beloved”), from Proto-West Germanic *diurī, from Proto-Germanic *diurijaz (“dear, precious; expensive”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn; hot, warm”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).