to hold dear
22
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /hoʊld dɪr/
:
valorar
- She holds her family dear and always makes time for them.
- values they hold dear
- principles he holds dear
Yeah, one of your biggest things you cherish and hold dear is your privacy.
- Yeah, one of your biggest things you cherish and hold dear is your privacy.
- Like so many products that I love and hold dear.
- Virtue elevates a person and places him above all that mortals hold dear.
- This is a deliberate destruction of the things that traditional Americans hold dear.
- Sick with sorrow as the flames gobbled up the lives of people I don't know but hold dear.
- And one day I might make it, but right now I need to spend time with people I hold dear.
- They voted and actively took part in the dismantling of the very place that they claim to hold dear.
- All of these people are propagandists that are supporting Trump above all of the institutions that we hold dear.
- Sometimes we feel burnt out because we're doing too little of the things that light us up, the things that we value, right, the things that we hold dear.
- The second value that I hold dear is can I pass this on?
Examples
-
Its ultimate target is you and every person you love and hold dear.
Academic text (1996) -
I'm afraid it goes against everything I hold dear in life.
-
You seek to destroy all I hold dear.
-
A country has special items it holds dear, sort of in trust for its people.
Blog text (20) -
And it is a profession that I hold dear.
-
You have to fight for the traditions we hold dear.
-
Let it remain as a reminder of all the things we hold dear.
Fiction book (1991) -
It gave us every freedom that we hold dear.
-
To me, fashion is expression, freedom and empowerment, things that as a young woman I hold dear to my heart.
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Without this strong moral base, the freedoms we hold dear will slip away and be forever lost.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To feel strong affection and great pleasure for someone or something
349
1.9
Like a person or want something
274
2.4
Love someone or something very much
204
3.0
To feel deep love for someone or something and treat it with care
76
2.9
To value someone or something a lot
Antonyms
How Dear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to feel great affection or to value highly' is directly derivable from combining 'hold' (to have/consider) with 'dear' (beloved/valued); the compounding follows the common English pattern 'hold + ADJ' meaning 'regard as [ADJ]'. This compositional relation is cross-linguistically familiar and, despite being somewhat formal, a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The idiom hold dear comes from the simple image of someone holding a small, precious thing close to their heart because it is dear to them. That's why it means 'to love or value highly'.