'dear' is an adjective describing a person that is known well and liked very much.Įxample 2: I'm not even entering this shop, their products are far too dear. Besides being used as a form of greeting, 'dear' can also be used as exclamation that expresses disappointment or surprise.įurther, when addressing a child or someone beloved, 'dear' can have the role of a noun in a phrase, used to call or speak to someone in a friendly or affectionate manner.Įxample 1: She is a dear friend of mine, please behave yourself. You may also find 'dear' in the beginning of most formal letters, placed in front of the name of the person whom the letter is written for, as a polite form of addressing that person. But the same adjective can also describe something that is expensive - this is especially used as another word for 'expensive' in UK English. The word is used to describe someone who is liked, a person who is known and liked very much. flower', 'hair and hare', and many others.Īt its core, 'dear' is an adjective. This is also the case with other homophones such as 'flour vs. This phenomenon appears because the two words are homophones, which means they have distinct meanings as well as different spellings, despite the fact that they sound exactly the same.

Both words sound the same because of their almost identical spellings.

But before we start, let's quickly go through a short explanation on the coincidence that appears when pronouncing 'dear vs.

We'll discuss what 'dear' and 'deer' mean in a minute.

What is the plural of deer