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View definitions for love

love

verb as in have sexual relations

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Example Sentences

Every now and again, we come across a love story that touches our hearts in more ways than be.

Again, I didn’t think much of it as a 15-year-old, but I just had a love for food.

From Ozy

Ideally you should be growing and evolving at similar rates and speeds for romantic love, I should say.

From Ozy

She’d met me in 1986, at a party for returned Peace Corps volunteers and had fallen in love with the guy who’d just spent two years teaching in Swaziland.

To be a real home cook, the kind who put love and attention into each dish, was to make everything yourself.

From Eater

What happened to true love knows no boundaries and all that?

“I love my job and I love my city and I am committed to the work here,” he said in a statement.

And we have a lot of great guests this season: Greta Gerwig, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi is back—I love that guy.

You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.

Terrorism is bad news anywhere, but especially rough on Odessa, where the city motto seems to be “make love, not war.”

In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.

The well-known "cock and bull" stories of small children are inspired by this love of strong effect.

Women generally consider consequences in love, seldom in resentment.

And as she hesitated between obedience to one and duty toward the other, her life, her love and future was in the balance.

Nothing but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my story.

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When To Use

What are other ways to say love?

Love may apply to various kinds of regard: the charity of the Creator, reverent adoration toward God or toward a person, the relation of parent and child, the regard of friends for each other, or romantic feelings for another person, etc. Affection is a fondness for others that is enduring and tender, but calm. Devotion is an intense love and steadfast, enduring loyalty to a person; it may also imply consecration to a cause.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for love?

Where do we begin? Love is often classified and categorized in terms of what type of relationship is being discussed, such as with terms like romantic love and platonic love, or with fancier words like eros or agape.

People who love each other romantically are said to be in love. Instantaneous love is called love at first sight.

Love is often described in terms of how serious or deep it is, as in terms like true love and unconditional love, or whether it’s reciprocated, as in unrequited love.

Synonyms for love that can imply varying levels of intensity or intimacy include fondness, affection, devotion, and adoration.

Love is also used as a noun in the sense of a person you love or have loved romantically, as in She was my first love or It’s a story of two loves reunited. The word lover is sometimes used in the same way, but this typically implies a sexual relationship. The word love is also often used in the context of sex in euphemisms like make love.

In more general contexts, we call the people we love loved ones. You might call someone my love as a term of endearment, much like my dear or my darling. Someone who is well loved is often described as beloved.

As a verb, there are a few synonyms that are sometimes used for love, such as adore, admire, cherish, and even treasure. But many words don’t really capture the fullness and depth of what love can mean.

For that, we usually look to the poets.

Among the wisest said that Love is a battlefield. Others have said that Love is all you need (all you need is love). If you’ve been to a lot of weddings, you’ve heard that love is patient, love is kindlove never fails. Shakespeare didn’t say that Love is a many splendored thing, but he did say that Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

Love is a lot of things. Love is a four-letter word. LOVE is a sculpture in Philadelphia (the city of brotherly love—not to be confused with the other City of Love). In tennis, love is nothing. In life, love is everything.

Some people see love as a feeling, an emotion. Others see it as an action. In this sense, perhaps the closest synonym for love is work. That’s what’s meant when it’s said that Love is a verb—love is a doing word.

Sometimes, there’s no other word for it, no better way to say it: love is love.

What is a stronger word for love?

Synonyms for love tend to capture only some aspects or elements of love.

The verb adore means to feel intense love for someone—and adoration can be mutual.

Still, despite how common the word is, and how easily it gets tossed around, love is often the strongest word you can use. I love you may be a set phrase, but there really is no equal for it. Perhaps the strongest way to use the word love is not just to say it, but to prove you mean it by showing it.

Of course, love is also commonly used as a way of saying you really like something, as in I love your shoes! In this case, love is the stronger word. Perhaps an even stronger way to say this is by avoiding a love/like construction altogether. For example, instead of saying I love your shoes, you could say Your shoes are fabulous! or Your shoes are EVERYTHING! or however you want to express how amazing they are.

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On this page you'll find 294 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to love, such as: affection, appreciation, devotion, emotion, fondness, and friendship.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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