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Definition of esteem verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

esteem

verb
 
/ɪˈstiːm/
 
/ɪˈstiːm/
(formal) not used in the progressive tenses
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they esteem
 
/ɪˈstiːm/
 
/ɪˈstiːm/
he / she / it esteems
 
/ɪˈstiːmz/
 
/ɪˈstiːmz/
past simple esteemed
 
/ɪˈstiːmd/
 
/ɪˈstiːmd/
past participle esteemed
 
/ɪˈstiːmd/
 
/ɪˈstiːmd/
past simple esteeming
 
/ɪˈstiːmɪŋ/
 
/ɪˈstiːmɪŋ/
past participle esteeming
 
/ɪˈstiːmɪŋ/
 
/ɪˈstiːmɪŋ/
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  1. [usually passive] to respect and admire somebody/something very much
    • be esteemed (by somebody) Many of these qualities are esteemed by managers.
    • a highly esteemed scientist
    • be esteemed as something He was esteemed as a dedicated and imaginative scholar.
    • be esteemed among somebody This rose is esteemed among connoisseurs for its colour and scent.
  2. esteem somebody/something + noun (old-fashioned, formal) to think of somebody/something in a particular way
    • We esteem it a privilege to have you with us.
    • She was esteemed the perfect novelist.
    Topics Opinion and argumentc2
  3. Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun in the sense ‘worth, reputation’): from Old French estime (noun), estimer (verb), from Latin aestimare ‘to estimate’. The verb was originally in the Latin sense, also ‘appraise’ (compare with estimate), used figuratively to mean ‘assess the merit of’. Current senses date from the 16th cent.
See esteem in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee esteem in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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