love

²love

verb \ˈləv\

lovedlov·ing

Definition of LOVE

transitive verb

1

: to hold dear : cherish

2

a : to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for b (1) : caress (2) : to fondle amorously (3) : to copulate with

3

: to like or desire actively : take pleasure in <loved to play the violin>

4

: to thrive in <the rose loves sunlight>

intransitive verb

: to feel affection or experience desire

Examples of LOVE

1. She obviously loves her family very much.
2. You have to love in order to be loved.
3. He swore that he loved her madly.
4. She said she could never marry a man she didn't love.
5. People loved him for his brashness and talent, his crazy manglings of the English language, his brawling, boyish antics … and I loved him, too, I loved him as much as anyone in the world. —Paul Auster, Granta, Winter 1994
6. Lying awake, listening to the sound of his father's breathing, he knew there was no one in the world he loved so much. —William Maxwell, New Yorker, 15 May 1989
7. I love either rushing off into abstractions, or shamelessly talking personalities. —Elizabeth Bowen, letter, 28 Apr. 1923
8. “Nay,” said Elizabeth, “this is not fair. You wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of any body. I only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it. Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813

Origin of LOVE

(see ¹love)

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to LOVE

Synonyms: appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value, set store by (or set store on), carry a torch for (or carry the torch for), fall for, lose one's heart (to)

Antonyms: disvalue

Related Words: delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, groove (on), like, relish, revel (in); admire, apprize, esteem, regard, respect, revere, reverence, venerate; enshrine, memorialize; adore, caress, dote (on), idolize, worship

Near Antonyms: undervalue; abhor, abominate, despise, detest, execrate, hate, loathe; disdain, high-hat, scorn, scout, slight, sniff (at), snub; bad-mouth, belittle, cry down, decry, deprecate, depreciate, disparage, kiss off, minimize, put down, write off; abandon, forget, neglect

see all synonyms and antonyms

[+]more[-]hide