admiration

[In Fr. admiration; Ital am mir azione, fr. Lat. admiratio = a wondering at.] [ADMIRE.] The act of wondering or admiring; the state of being wondered at or admired; the object of wonder, the object ad mired. + Specially : 1. Wonder, not yet limited to cases in which this is mingled with approbation. It is excited by an astonishing object. "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admira tion."-Rev. xvii. 6. [See also example under ADMIRE, 1.] 2. Wonder coupled with approbation. It is excited by a person or thing in any respect po e ed of unexpectedly high excellence. even at Versailles the hatred which he inspired was largely mingled with admiration."Macaulay: Hist. Eng., ch. xi. "I could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration."-Darwin: Journal of Voyage round the World, ch. xviii.