1
: a dearly loved person
2
: favorite
a director who is the darling of the critics
darlingness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of darling in a Sentence
Noun
She was mother's little darling.
for a while that candidate was the darling of the news media and could do no wrong
Adjective
This is my darling daughter, Sara.
That dress is just darling.
Recent Examples on the Web
Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2024
Hard Candy Head to Walmart to grab something from the sweetly edgy drugstore darling, Hard Candy.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 3 Apr. 2024
Once the darlings of investors, many are in financial free fall.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Pitt, 60, has stepped behind the camera in recent years as an executive producer on critical darlings like 2022’s Women Talking and 2020’s Minari.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024
North Carolina's Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson became a TikTok darling while campaigning for Congress for his personal, easy-to-understand videos.
—USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Some of our favorite deals include drugstore darlings like this Neutrogena facial sunscreen and this Wet n’ Wild lipstick that’s marked down to $1.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
Still, Manka’s, a century-old former hunting retreat tucked into the woods two hours northwest of San Francisco in Inverness, Calif., was in the vanguard of hyperlocal food, a haven for chefs and celebrities and a national media darling.
—Kim Severson, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia will host its global artificial intelligence conference for developers from March 18 to 21, with a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang on the docket.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
Melissa Epifano, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024
The actor, 35, took to Instagram on Monday to share a tribute to the darling little girl.
—Marisa Sullivan, Peoplemag, 27 Dec. 2022
This pencil sign for the first or last day of school is both darling and so simple.
—Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 14 July 2022
Widen your horizons with a red Breton stripe, like this one with a darling bow toe at the back.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 2 May 2022
While out in London today, Olivia Wilde wore a beanie, red Northface x Gucci puffer coat, spandex, New Balance sneakers, and a darling blue sweatshirt with a cartoon frog and the word Pleasing emblazoned on its chest.
—Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2022
But perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the spring- and summer-friendly piece are the darling faux pearl buttons at the bodice that add a charming touch to the entire number.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 25 Mar. 2022
Nothing says spring like pastel hues, and this baby-yellow, fur trim cardigan is too darling to pass up.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2022
In addition to the new boss, this Window Shop experience features the charming Elana Scherr, the endearing Jonathon Ramsey, the darling K.C. Colwell, and some guy who has never ever been hired by Car and Driver.
—John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 25 Feb. 2022
Noun
Oakland holly has become a darling of landscape architects who like its pyramidal growth form and compact habit.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2024
Hard Candy Head to Walmart to grab something from the sweetly edgy drugstore darling, Hard Candy.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 3 Apr. 2024
Once the darlings of investors, many are in financial free fall.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Pitt, 60, has stepped behind the camera in recent years as an executive producer on critical darlings like 2022’s Women Talking and 2020’s Minari.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024
North Carolina's Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson became a TikTok darling while campaigning for Congress for his personal, easy-to-understand videos.
—USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Some of our favorite deals include drugstore darlings like this Neutrogena facial sunscreen and this Wet n’ Wild lipstick that’s marked down to $1.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
Still, Manka’s, a century-old former hunting retreat tucked into the woods two hours northwest of San Francisco in Inverness, Calif., was in the vanguard of hyperlocal food, a haven for chefs and celebrities and a national media darling.
—Kim Severson, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia will host its global artificial intelligence conference for developers from March 18 to 21, with a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang on the docket.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The essence of the inimitable country icon has been funneled into a darling new figurine, complete with a glittering orange bodysuit and bold blue eyeshadow.
—Melissa Epifano, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024
The actor, 35, took to Instagram on Monday to share a tribute to the darling little girl.
—Marisa Sullivan, Peoplemag, 27 Dec. 2022
This pencil sign for the first or last day of school is both darling and so simple.
—Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 14 July 2022
Widen your horizons with a red Breton stripe, like this one with a darling bow toe at the back.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 2 May 2022
While out in London today, Olivia Wilde wore a beanie, red Northface x Gucci puffer coat, spandex, New Balance sneakers, and a darling blue sweatshirt with a cartoon frog and the word Pleasing emblazoned on its chest.
—Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2022
But perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the spring- and summer-friendly piece are the darling faux pearl buttons at the bodice that add a charming touch to the entire number.
—Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 25 Mar. 2022
Nothing says spring like pastel hues, and this baby-yellow, fur trim cardigan is too darling to pass up.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2022
In addition to the new boss, this Window Shop experience features the charming Elana Scherr, the endearing Jonathon Ramsey, the darling K.C. Colwell, and some guy who has never ever been hired by Car and Driver.
—John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 25 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'darling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Darling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darling. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
darling
1 of 2 noun
dar·ling
ˈdär-liŋ 
1
: a dearly loved person
Geographical Definition
Darling
geographical name
Dar·ling
ˈdär-liŋ
river 1702 miles (2738 kilometers) long in southeastern Australia in Queensland and New South Wales flowing southwest into the Murray River
More from Merriam-Webster on darling
Nglish: Translation of darling for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of darling for Arabic Speakers
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