love
Other forms: loved; loves; loving
How can we love our partners, our parents, sunsets at the beach, cats, and Fridays? The types of love listed here mean different things — but what remains is the certainty, at least for now, that what you love is what you adore.
Love is an expression of emotion. Love, it is said, can make you walk miles barefoot in the rain just to see the person you can't stop thinking about. Or, it can make you cross the street because the store "you love" is located there. Love is a versatile word — like what it describes. Love takes many forms, but the word typically describes an affection that is deep and emotional. If you say you’re “in love,” that tends to refer to the romantic kind of love.
Definitions of love
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a strong positive emotion of regard and affection“his love for his work”“children need a lot of love”
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Antonyms:
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hate, hatred
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
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types:
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adoration, worship
a feeling of profound love and admiration
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agape, agape love
selfless love of one person for another without sexual implications (especially love that is spiritual in nature)
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agape
(Christian theology) the love of God or Christ for mankind
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filial love
the love of a child for a parent
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ardor, ardour
intense feeling of love
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amorousness, enamoredness
a feeling of love or fondness
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calf love, crush, infatuation, puppy love
temporary love of an adolescent
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devotedness, devotion
feelings of ardent love
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benevolence
disposition to do good
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heartstrings
your deepest feelings of love and compassion
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caring, lovingness
a loving feeling
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loyalty
feelings of allegiance
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beneficence
doing good; feeling beneficent
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warmheartedness, warmth
a warmhearted feeling
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type of:
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emotion
any strong feeling
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hate, hatred
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a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction“their love left them indifferent to their surroundings”“she was his first love”
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synonyms:
erotic love, sexual love
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type of:
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concupiscence, eros, physical attraction, sexual desire
a desire for sexual intimacy
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concupiscence, eros, physical attraction, sexual desire
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any object of warm affection or devotion
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a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
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sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people“he has a very complicated love life”
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synonyms:
love life, lovemaking, making love, sexual love
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type of:
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sex, sex activity, sexual activity, sexual practice
activities associated with sexual intercourse
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sex, sex activity, sexual activity, sexual practice
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have a great affection or liking for“I love French food”“She loves her boss and works hard for him”
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types:
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care for, cherish, hold dear, treasure
be fond of; be attached to
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dote
shower with love; show excessive affection for
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adore
love intensely
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fetishize
make a fetish of
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romance
have a love affair with
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yearn
have affection for; feel tenderness for
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hero-worship, idolise, idolize, revere, worship
love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol
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be enamored or in love with“She loves her husband deeply”
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types:
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romance
have a love affair with
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romance
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get pleasure from
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have sexual intercourse with
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synonyms:
have intercourse, have sex, roll in the hay
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types:
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have, take
have sex with; archaic use
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fornicate
have sex without being married
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swing
engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends
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bed-hop, bedhop, sleep around
be sexually active with more than one partner
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a score of zero in tennis or squash“it was 40 love”
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type of:
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score
a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest
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score
Pronunciation
US
/ləv/
UK
/ləv/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘love'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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