amorous

am·o·rous

adj \ˈa-mə-rəs, ˈam-rəs\

Definition of AMOROUS

1

: strongly moved by love and especially sexual love <amorous couples>

2

: being in love : enamored —usually used with of <amorous of the girl>

3

a : indicative of love <received amorous glances from her partner> b : of or relating to love <an amorous novel>

— am·o·rous·ly adverb

— am·o·rous·ness noun

Examples of AMOROUS

1. He has an amorous nature.
2. <male birds engage in amorous behavior—nest-building, singing, showing off their finery—in order to attract females>
3. Vickers has now turned his formidable powers to “A Lover's Complaint”. This 329-line amorous oration was published with the Sonnets in 1609, though it is probably little read even by those for whom the sonnets are a form of poetic oxygen. —Harold Love, Times Literary Supplement, 6 July 2007
4. The first commercial valentines were produced in the U.S. in 1834 by one Robert H. Elton, and the custom of sending greeting cards with amorous messages has persisted. —Phillip Lopate, Wigwag, February 1990
5. His amorous affairs he flaunted as if they were masterpieces, and he invited his marital partner to share in the esthetic experience. —John Updike, New York Times Book Review, 29 Mar. 1987

Origin of AMOROUS

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin amorosus, from Latin amor love, from amare to love

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to AMOROUS

Synonyms: amatory, erotic, aphrodisiac (also aphrodisiacal), erogenous, erotogenic, sexy, steamy

Antonyms: nonerotic, unerotic, unsexy

Related Words: autoerotic; carnal, fleshly, sensual, sensuous; bawdy, lascivious, lewd, lustful, obscene, prurient, racy, spicy, suggestive, titillating; dirty, filthy, foul, gross, indecent, nasty, pornographic, ribald, smutty, unprintable, vulgar; fetishistic, perversive

Near Antonyms: clean, decent, decorous, polite, proper, seemly; innocuous, inoffensive

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Rhymes with AMOROUS

clamorous, glamorous