endear

/ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)/

//ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"endear" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“endear” is uncommon English (frequency #62,872 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,872
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make (something) more precious or valuable.

Corpus desk

Index EN-endear · endear · English

endear · rank #62,872 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,872
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH enchilada

Nearest frequency peer: enchilada (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “endear”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “endear” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for endear
PropertyValue
Headwordendear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)/
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,872
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “endear” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).endearfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “enchilada” (#62,871), “equilateral” (#62,874), “emplacement” (#62,869). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “endear” is #62,872. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

endear is uncommon English at frequency #62,872 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

endear has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From en- + dear. The correct English form is endear, spelled E-N-D-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make (something) more precious or valuable.
  2. 2
    To make (something) more expensive; to increase the cost of.
  3. 3
    To stress (something) as important; to exaggerate.
  4. 4
    To make (someone) dear or precious.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how endear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Salvianus Massiliensis[…]saith, that amongst French-men, to lie and forsweare is no vice but a manner of speach. He that would endeare [translating encherir] this Testimonie, might say, it is now rather deemed a vertue among them.
  2. By giving candy to the children the man tried to endear himself to them.

Etymology

From en- + dear.

Synonyms

bedear

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "endear"?
"endear" is spelled E-N-D-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "endear" mean?
As a verb, "endear" means: To make (something) more precious or valuable.
How do you pronounce "endear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "endear" is /ɪnˈdɪə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "endear"?
From en- + dear. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "endear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Emmaus#62,867Drouin#62,855Festus#62,893doling#62,848

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list