Definition of "endearing"

[…] I dare not call him father, nor he, without shame, own me as his issue, I being illegitimate, and therefore deprived of that endearing tenderness and unparalleled satisfaction which a good man finds in the love and conversation of a parent.

1711 November 3 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “TUESDAY, October 23, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 203; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, pages 26–27

BELIEVE me, if all those endearing young charms, / Which I gaze on so fondly to-day, / Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms, / Like fairy-gifts fading away,— / Thou wouldst stil be ador'd as this moment thou art, / Let thy loveliness fade as it will; / And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart / Would entwine itself verdantly still!

1808, John [Andrew] Stevenson, Thomas Moore, “Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms”, in A Selection of Irish Melodies. […], second number, London: Printed and sold at J. Power's Music & Instrument Warehouse, […], stanza I, page 112

But the humorous look of children is perhaps the most endearing of all the bonds that hold the Cosmos together.

1907, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, “A Defence of Baby-worship”, in The Defendant (The Wayfarer’s Library), 3rd edition, London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Co. […], page 116

In legitimate comedy actresses conformed to a Victorian image of coquetry. Most comediennes were termed soubrettes, after their inclination for depicting young women in a variety of situations, in which the soubrettes employed their diverse popular talents to heighten their endearing magnetism.

1983, Chad Evans, “The Road to British Columbia”, in Frontier Theatre: A History of Nineteenth-century Theatrical Entertainment in the Canadian Far West and Alaska, Victoria, B.C.: Sono Nis Press, page 143

And yet [Nathan] Jones is perfect in Fury Road, a deeply dangerous human weapon who, because of his infantile need for respect from his father, somehow turns out endearing even though we see him ripping an engine from the hood and throwing it at the good guys.

2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road Might Already be the Best Action Movie Ever Made”, in The A.V. Club‎, archived from the original on 22 February 2018

It was arms around, and perpetual endearings, and all that I had missed for a weary twelve-month.

1919 September, Jack London, “On the Makaloa Mat”, in On the Makaloa Mat, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 23