cherish
CHER-ish
/ˈtʃɛr.ɪʃ/
To protect and care for someone or something lovingly; to hold dear in mind.
Implies deep valuation, protective care, and holding something sacred in memory or heart.
The story behind the word. Derived from Old French 'chérir', from Latin 'carus', meaning 'dear' or 'costly'. To cherish someone literally meant treating them as precious beyond price, surrounding them with care.
Word relationships
- treasure: Treasure focuses on immense perceived value, while cherish emphasizes loving care and emotional nurturing.
- value: Value can be purely cognitive or financial, whereas cherish requires deep emotional devotion.
- neglect: Neglect means to give no care or attention to something.
- disregard: Disregard means to treat as unimportant or worthless.
Commonly confused with
- charish: 'Charish' is a common misspelling; the correct spelling is cherish.
Word family
- cherished (adjective): Held dear; deeply appreciated.
Collocations
- cherish memories
- cherish the moment
- deeply cherish
Idioms & expressions
- hold dear to one's heart
Example sentences
- "They promised to love and cherish each other through every trial of life." Traditional wedding vow context
- "She will always cherish the handwritten letters left behind by her grandmother." Sentimental memory
Memory hook
CHERish comes from CHER (dear in French), like a rare CHERRY you protect. Hold dear and protect like treasure.
When not to use
Avoid using for superficial, disposable items or brief interest.
Fun facts
- The traditional English marriage liturgy made 'to love and to cherish' a standardized phrase since 1549.
Also appears in
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.