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Can you suggest some ways of saying "I admire that guy"?

First of all, is the sentence below correct?

I admire someone

Secondly, how can I change it to avoid always using the same sentence?

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  • One thing you can do is to talk about "what" you admire about the person: I really admire his ability to raise morale Hopefully that aspect will be different each time.
    – Jim
    Feb 24, 2014 at 2:25

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First of all, yes, that sentence is perfectly sound. In order to rephrase it, it would depend on the type of admiration, since the word "admire" has more than one definition, just as "relationship", "respect", or "love" can mean several different kinds of relationships, different kinds of respect, different kinds of love, etc. You're welcome to look this up in a dictionary to see the different usages for this word and others, and if you'd like to see other words that have similar definitions, I'd recommend using a thesaurus. Below is a link for each.

http://dictionary.com

http://thesaurus.com

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    This is a good first answer, but I'd recommend adding in examples and explaining the differences between the different alternatives and how to use them.
    – starsplusplus
    Feb 23, 2014 at 22:33
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I'd have to know more about the kind of feelings you're trying to convey, but one slang term gaining traction in the U.S. is man crush. The Urban Dictionary has several meanings listed at their site; I'll share this one:

man crush - for a man to have a very close platonic friendship and/or admiration for another man.

Another book defines the term by saying:

man crush - a form of hero worship, or the desire to either be or emulate the other man

The term can be used in one of two ways:

I've had a man crush on Ronaldo since the last World Cup.

During the last World Cup, Ronaldo was my man crush.

When Barack Obama was a candidate, one columnist wondered:

Why do men as diverse as Colin Powell, Michael Eric Dyson, Andrew Sullivan, Tom Joyner, Ted Kennedy, Bill Richardson, Christopher Hitchens and numerous others, appear to have such a "man crush" on Sen. Obama? (The Obama Man Crush, published in The Root, July 18, 2008)

I should point out that this is a rather trendy slang term. I'd caution against overusing the term, lest you start to sound silly. But you did specifically ask for alternative ways to express admiration for someone, and this is one way to do that.

From what I've heard and seen, it seems to be an expression largely used by men among men about other men.

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Yes, "I admire someone" is a correct sentence and it would be fine to use it.

Another expression for this that is very common is to say "I look up to someone."

Examples:

  • "I really look up to Simone Biles for her courage and self-discpline."
  • "I look up to Lionel Messi for his good sportsmanship."

I would be careful about using man crush, as it is very slangy and is often meant to be kind of funny. Usually it would be used by a man, with the meaning that he is a fan of another man. However, I have seen it used by women in the context of "Man Crush Monday," where Monday is for posting photos of hot guys on social media. :)

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