fondness

noun

ˈfän(d)-nəs How to pronounce fondness (audio)
Definition of fondnessnext
1
as in love
a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone my fondness for you will never fail

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in liking
positive regard for something I have a fondness for expensive chocolate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fondness King’s eyes gather the world’s hodgepodge, and her hand records with a sensitivity that can come only from fondness. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Today, audience fondness for pricey premium formats like IMAX has pushed the average adult ticket price above $13, according to research firm EntTelligence. — Bob Mondello, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026 Sharon loses some points for her fondness for watching movies on her phone. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026 Regardless, Braxton listeners with a fondness for his grittier, more compact work should find that Splayed Werks delivers the goods without feeling like a step back. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fondness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fondness
  1. love
  2. liking
  3. affection
  4. like
  5. passion
  6. preference
  7. appetite
Noun
  • In the first episode of HBO’s divorce legal drama War, the word love doesn’t come up once.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Yet as related here in the low-key delivery of someone who not just survived but lived to be 101 years old, Jaku was able to enjoy the love, peace, contentment and security he was denied in his youth.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of love
Noun
  • Content creator Josh Lora, also known as @tellthebees, posted on TikTok that people are trying to rewrite the reality of professionalism to their liking—and that those who bring coffee into an interview won’t get the job.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Through circumstance and timing, DeSantis has used appointments to drastically shape Florida politics — and its judiciary — to his liking, gifting allies the levers of power and the benefit of incumbency.
    — Zoe Millán, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of liking
Noun
  • With the Moon in your sign opposing Venus in your partnership zone, affection could feel wonderful one minute and intrusive the next.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Inside, the hotel's affection for old Florida reveals itself one detail at a time.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of affection
Noun
  • The comment has amassed more than 34,000 likes, while Bruno’s post itself has north of a million.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The post, shared with her one million followers, garnered nearly 100,000 likes within hours.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of like
Noun
  • In opening statements, prosecutors elaborated on that claim, saying Weinberg also traded on stories and pictures of his three children, presenting himself as a loving father looking for an outlet for his creative passion as an amateur shutterbug.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Diana Almendariz Cultural practice is in Diana Almendariz’s passion and lineage.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of passion
Noun
  • Wang expects the trade truce to get extended again next year, noting China has a strong preference for external stability before the Communist Party’s 21st Congress next autumn.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • For Johnson, that demonstrated how a neighborhood business could understand the culture and preferences of the people surrounding it.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of preference
Noun
  • But with public debt rising and budgets already under strain, governments have little appetite for adding another enormous bill to the public ledger.
    — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The government, unable and unwilling to check their most voracious citizens and appetites, failed to tame the frontier.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of appetite

Browse Nearby Words

fondling
fondness
font
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Cite this Entry

“Fondness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fondness. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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