Answer
When used as an adjective "Dear" in Italian would be "caro" for male and "cara" for female. For example, for the salutation in a letter it would be "Dear Joseph" in English and in Italian it would be "Caro Joseph" if the letter is informal. In a formal letter it would be "Egregio" instead of "Caro". In a term of affection such as "My Dear" it would be "Mio Caro" for a male and "Mia Cara" for a female. There are other instances where using the word "Dear" in Italian would not be "caro" but there are many and it really depends on how the word is being used in the sentence.
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