Dear woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied.
Source: tatoeba (51390)
Dear
/dɪə/
Synonyms for "dear" (168 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (34)
Adverb(1 words)
Strong matches (50)
Related words (84)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: beloved, costly, pricey, address term, admired.
- Sentence evidence is available for dear, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "dear".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "dear"
Keep "dear" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "dear" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "dear", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "dear" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
10 entrieseconomic costexclamationinexperienced personinnocentinterjectionlinguistic expressionloverpositive appraisalsalutationvocative expression
More specific
10 entriesCollocations
10 entriesdear Goddear colleaguedear colleaguesdear madamdear medear pricedear readerdear sirmy dearoh dear
Inflections
2 entriesDerivations
4 entriessimilar
4 entriesTranslations
113 translations across 49 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- beste adj (formal way of addressing)
Arabic
4 entries- عَزِيز adj (formal way of addressing)
- عَزِيز adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- عَزِيْزَة adj (formal way of addressing)
- عَزِيْزَة adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Armenian
3 entries- հարգելի adj (formal way of addressing)
- մեծարգո adj (formal way of addressing)
- սիրելի adj (formal way of addressing)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- dəyərli adj (formal way of addressing)
- hörmətli adj (formal way of addressing)
Belarusian
3 entries- дарагі́ adj (formal way of addressing)
- паважа́ны adj (formal way of addressing)
- шано́ўны adj (formal way of addressing)
Bulgarian
3 entries- драг adj (formal way of addressing)
- скъп adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- уважа́ем adj (formal way of addressing)
Catalan
3 entries- benvolgut adj (formal way of addressing)
- estimat adj (formal way of addressing)
- estimat adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Central Kurdish
1 entries- بەڕێز adj (formal way of addressing)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 尊敬的 adj (formal way of addressing)
- 昂貴的 /昂贵的 adj (formal way of addressing)
- 親愛的 /亲爱的 adj (formal way of addressing)
- 親愛的 /亲爱的 adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Czech
1 entries- drahý adj (formal way of addressing)
Danish
1 entries- kære adj (formal way of addressing)
Dutch
4 entries- beste adj (formal way of addressing)
- geachte adj (formal way of addressing)
- hooggeachte adj (formal way of addressing)
- lieve adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Faroese
2 entries- góður adj (formal way of addressing)
- kærur adj (formal way of addressing)
Finnish
4 entries- arvon adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- hyvä adj (formal way of addressing)
- parahin adj (formal way of addressing)
- rakas adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
French
2 entries- cher adj (formal way of addressing)
- cher adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
German
2 entries- lieber adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- sehr geehrter/sehr geehrte adj (formal way of addressing)
Greek
2 entries- αγαπητέ adj (formal way of addressing)
- αγαπητή adj (formal way of addressing)
Hindi
3 entries- आदरणीय adj (formal way of addressing)
- प्यारा adj (formal way of addressing)
- प्रिय adj (formal way of addressing)
Hungarian
4 entries- drága adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- kedves adj (formal way of addressing)
- kedves adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- tisztelt adj (formal way of addressing)
Irish
4 entries- a chairde adj (formal way of addressing)
- a chairde adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- a chara adj (formal way of addressing)
- a chara adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Italian
3 entries- caro adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- egregio adj (formal way of addressing)
- gentile adj (formal way of addressing)
Japanese
3 entries- へ adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- 拝啓 adj (formal way of addressing)
- 様 adj (formal way of addressing)
Khmer
1 entries- ជូនចំពោះ adj (formal way of addressing)
Latvian
1 entries- cienītais adj (formal way of addressing)
Lithuanian
1 entries- gerbiamas adj (formal way of addressing)
Macedonian
2 entries- драг adj (formal way of addressing)
- мил adj (formal way of addressing)
Mongolian
3 entries- хүндэт adj (formal way of addressing)
- эрхэм adj (formal way of addressing)
- эрхэм хүндэт adj (formal way of addressing)
Norwegian
2 entries- kjære adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- ærede adj (formal way of addressing)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- عزیز adj (formal way of addressing)
Pashto
2 entries- ګران adj (formal way of addressing)
- ګران adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Persian
1 entries- عزیز adj (formal way of addressing)
Polish
2 entries- drogi adj (formal way of addressing)
- szanowny adj (formal way of addressing)
Portuguese
4 entries- caro adj (formal way of addressing)
- caro adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- prezado adj (formal way of addressing)
- querido adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Romanian
2 entries- dragă adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- stimate adj (formal way of addressing)
Russian
4 entries- дорога́я adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- дорого́й adj (formal way of addressing)
- дорого́й adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- уважа́емый adj (formal way of addressing)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- poštovani adj (formal way of addressing)
- поштовани adj (formal way of addressing)
Slovak
2 entries- drahý adj (formal way of addressing)
- vážený adj (formal way of addressing)
Slovene
1 entries- dragi adj (formal way of addressing)
Spanish
4 entries- caro adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- estimado adj (formal way of addressing)
- estimado adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
- querido adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Sranan Tongo
2 entries- lespeki adj (formal way of addressing)
- lobi adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Swedish
1 entries- kära adj (formal way of addressing)
Tamil
2 entries- அன்புக்குரிய adj (formal way of addressing)
- அன்பே adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Telugu
1 entries- ప్రియమైన adj (formal way of addressing)
Turkish
2 entries- sayın adj (formal way of addressing)
- sevgili adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Ukrainian
2 entries- дороги́й adj (formal way of addressing)
- шано́вний adj (formal way of addressing)
Urdu
1 entries- عزیز adj (formal way of addressing)
Vietnamese
2 entries- kính thưa adj (formal way of addressing)
- thưa adj (formal way of addressing)
Walloon
1 entries- binamé adj (formal way of addressing)
Welsh
2 entries- annwyl adj (formal way of addressing)
- annwyl adj (an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line)
Sample sentences
34 total sentences available.
This book is too dear for me.
Source: tatoeba (56936)
This town is dear to us.
Source: tatoeba (57832)
These stockings are very dear.
Source: tatoeba (60961)
Showing 4 of 34 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "dear"?
Closest matches include beloved, costly, pricey, address term, admired.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "dear"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.