ad-mīror, ātus, 1, v. dep., to wonder at, to be astonished at, to regard with admiration, to admire, to be in a state of mind in which something pleases us by its extraordinary greatness, its sublimity, or perfection; while mirari signifies to be surprised at, to have the feeling of the new, singular, unusual.
I In gen.: quorum ego copiam non modo non contemno, sed etiam vehementer admiror, Cic. de Or. 1, 51: ingenium tuum, Crasse, vehementer admirans, id. ib. 1, 20 fin. : res gestas, id. Brut. 94, 323: quem et admiror et diligo, id. Ac. 2 ( Luc. ), 36; so id. Scaur. 1, 4: magnitudinem animi, id. Fam. 1, 7; Nep. Dion. 2; id. Alcib. 11: illum, Verg. G. 4, 215 (cf. mirari in Hor. C. 4, 14, 43, and the Gr. θαυμάζειν, Eurip. Med. 1144).—
II Esp.
A To gaze at passionately , to strive after a thing from admiration of it , to desire to obtain it : nihil hominem nisi quod honestum decorumque sit, aut admirari aut optare aut expetere oportere, Cic. Off. 1, 20: nil admirari prope res est una, Numici, Solaque quae possit facere et servare beatum, not to be brought by any thing into an impassioned state of mind , or into a state of desire or longing (as in the Gr. μὴ θαυμάζειν; acc. to Pythagoras the limit of all philos. effort), Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 1.—
B More freq., to fall into a state of wonder or astonishment at a thing , to wonder at , be astonished at. —Constr. with acc., acc. with inf., de , super aliquam rem, with a relat. clause , quod , cur , etc.: quid admirati estis? why are you so surprised? Plaut. Am. prol. 99: admiratus sum brevitatem epistulae, Cic. Att. 6, 9: hoc maxime admiratus sum, mentionem te hereditatum ausum esse facere, id. Phil. 2, 16 fin. ; so Nep. Alcib. 1; id. Epam. 6, 3: de diplomate admiraris, quasi, etc., Cic. Att. 10, 17: de Dionysio sum admiratus, qui, etc., id. ib. 9, 12; so id. Mur. 19: super quae admiratus pater, Vulg. Tob. 5, 10; ib. Act. 13, 12: cave quidquam admiratus sis, quā causā id fiat, Ter. Heaut. 826: admirantium, unde hoc studium exstitisset, Cic. N. D. 1, 3: admiratur quidnam Vettius dicturus sit, id. Verr. 3, 167: admiror, quo pacto, etc., Hor. S. 1, 4, 99: admiratus sum, quod, etc., Cic. Att. 6, 9: ne quis sit admiratus, cur, etc., id. Off. 2, 10, 35.☞ Pass. : Propter venustatem vestimentorum admirari, to be admired , Canutius ap. Prisc. 792 P.— Part. fut. pass. : admīrandus , a, um, to be admired; admirable , wonderful : suspicienda et admiranda, Cic. Div. 2, 72, 148: quo magis pravitas eorum admiranda est, Sall. J. 2, 4. —Hence also adj., = admirabilis: patiens admirandum in modum, Nep. Ep. 3: exposuit quae in Italia viderentur admiranda, id. Cat. fin. : admiranda spectacula, Verg. G. 4, 3: vir subtilis et in plurimis admirandus, Quint. 3, 11, 22.— Comp. and adv. not used.— Sup. is found in Salv. Ep. 8: admirandissimi juvenes; cf. Barth, Adv. 35, 9.