Esteemed means respected and admired, usually because of a long good reputation — a person, a teacher, a newspaper, a prize committee. It is warmer and heavier than liked, and more formal than respected on its own. You might hear “our esteemed colleague” at a ceremony; in a text to a friend it can sound a little stiff or even teasing, as if you were putting someone on a small throne. It does not mean “expensive” or “fancy,” and it does not mean you agree with them on every point — only that people hold them in high regard.