Bedear
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To make or hold dear; endear. transitive
"I have been too nice. The coaxing minx, she loves me, cannot hide it, Has but half heart to try. Coy as she is, Her looks are kisses and her voice bedears me, Though she but say "Good day, sir.""
- 2 To say "dear" to; address as "dear". transitive
"The "dears" had such a hard time of it, that they ended by keeping purposely away from the court-receptions, while, on the other hand, the legion of insignificant people with the von to their name commenced bedearing each other to their hearts content."
Example
More examples"I have been too nice. The coaxing minx, she loves me, cannot hide it, Has but half heart to try. Coy as she is, Her looks are kisses and her voice bedears me, Though she but say "Good day, sir.""
Etymology
From be- + dear.
More for "bedear"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.