Cherish: To Hold Something Dear and Look After It
To cherish is to love something and protect it. The word carries both feeling and duty, which is why it appears in marriage vows and in phrases about memories.
Cherish means to hold dear and to care for. It is not a synonym for love: love is a feeling, while cherishing implies keeping something safe. That double duty is exactly why the traditional wedding vow says love and cherish rather than choosing one.
- To hold dear and protect. *He cherished his grandmother's letters.*
- To keep a feeling alive. *She cherished the hope of returning.*
- To treat with affection. *To love and to cherish.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | cherish | Cherish these years. |
| Past | cherished | A cherished memory. |
| Adjective | cherished | A cherished possession. |
| Noun | cherishing | The cherishing of old traditions. |
| Related | cherished number | A cherished number plate. |
How it is used in a sentence
- I will cherish this for the rest of my life.Common at farewells and presentations.
- A cherished belief is hard to give up.The adjective often marks a belief held with feeling rather than evidence.
- In Britain a personalised plate is called a cherished registration.A trade term, oddly formal.
Cherish, treasure, value and prize
- Cherish — love and protect, with warmth and duty together
- Treasure — hold as precious, with delight
- Value — recognise worth, which can be entirely unemotional
- Prize — regard as worth more than alternatives
- Only cherish carries the sense of active care
From Old French *cheriss-*, the stem of *cherir*, to hold dear, from *cher*, dear, from Latin *carus*. The same *carus* gives charity and caress, which makes the family a small map of English affection.
Cherish or treasure?
They overlap. Treasure is closer to delight in something; cherish adds the sense of looking after it.
Can you cherish a person?
Yes, and it is stronger than saying you like them. It implies you would protect them.