Standard Lemma guide

dearness

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈdɪə(ɹ)nəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The quality of having great value or price.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the quality possessed by something with a great price or value

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: costliness, preciousness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: expensiveness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English dear Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English dearness From dear + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: غَلَاة (ḡalāh) — quality of having great value
  • French: cherté — quality of having great value
  • German: Teuerheit — quality of having great value
  • Latin: cāritas — quality of having great value
  • Manx: ard-leagh — quality of having great value
  • Russian: дорогови́зна (dorogovízna) — quality of having great value