What does adored mean?
"Adored" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "adore," meaning to have loved someone or something with deep, often demonstrative devotion. It is one of the strongest ordinary words for affection in English, stronger than "liked" or "loved" in its connotation of reverence and delight. People speak of adored grandparents, teachers, pets, and public figures, and the passive form — "she was adored by millions" — is a staple of celebrity and literary prose. The word also preserves an older religious sense: to adore a deity is to worship it, which reflects the term's Latin origin, adorare, literally "to pray to." Warm, emphatic, and versatile, "adored" signals not just affection but a kind of loving esteem that elevates its object.
verbPast tense and past participle of "adore": to love and respect someone or something deeply and devotedly.
- To have loved someone or something deeply and devotedly.
- (Of a deity) To have been worshipped or venerated.
"She adored her grandmother and spent every summer at her house."
"He adored his wife and told her so every day."
"In ancient Rome, the emperor was adored as a living god."
When you adore someone, you're literally 'praying to' them — the word traces back to Latin adorare, formed from 'to' + 'speak, pray.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adored
"Adored" comes from the Latin verb adorare, meaning "to pray to" or "to worship," formed from ad- ("to") plus orare ("to speak, pray"). The word entered English via Old French adourer in the late Middle Ages, initially carrying its religious sense of worship before broadening to intense personal affection. It shares its ultimate root with words such as "oration" and "inexorable," which derive from the same Latin verb orare.
Related word forms
How adored is actually used
"Adored" carries strong emotional warmth and is common in both everyday speech ("the kids adored the puppy") and literary writing. In religious contexts it retains its older sense of worshipful reverence.
Easily confused with adored
"Adorned" means decorated or embellished, while "adored" means deeply loved or worshipped.