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esteem

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To set a high value on.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhsteem

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əsˈtim

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To set a high value on; to regard with respect or reverence.

  2. Regard highly; think much of

  3. To regard something as valuable; to prize.

  4. Look on as or consider

  5. To look upon something in a particular way.

noun

  1. Assessment, estimation, or regard; especially; favourable estimation or regard.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To set a high value on; to regard with respect or reverence.

Used this way, esteem is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use esteem

  • “It is held in esteem.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

self esteemgreat esteem

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • respect

    To have respect for.

  • regard

    To set store by (something), to hold (someone) in esteem.

  • value

    To regard highly; think much of; place importance upon.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • self-esteemnounCompound term

    A feeling of pride in yourself.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to set a high value on

regardArchaic

Antonyms

verb

Sense: to set a high value on

disesteemRaredisrespect

noun

Sense: assessment or estimation or or regard

disesteemRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.