love
noun
\ ˈləv
\
\
Definition of love
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1)
: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
maternal love for a child
(2)
: attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers
After all these years, they are still very much in love.
(3)
: affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
love for his old schoolmates
b
: an assurance of affection
give her my love
2
: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
love of the sea
3a
: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration
baseball was his first love
b(1)
: a beloved person : darling
—often used as a term of endearment
(2)
British
—used as an informal term of address
4a
: unselfish loyal and benevolent (see benevolent sense 1a) concern for the good of another: such as
(1)
: the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2)
: brotherly concern for others
b
: a person's adoration of God
5
: a god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love
6
: an amorous episode : love affair
7
: the sexual embrace : copulation
8
: a score of zero (as in tennis)
at love
in love
: holding one's opponent scoreless in tennis
: inspired by affection
love
verb
\ ˈləv
\
\
loved;
loving
Definition of love (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to hold dear : cherish
2a
: to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for
3
: to like or desire actively : take pleasure in
loved to play the violin
4
: to thrive in
the rose loves sunlight
: to feel affection or experience desire
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Synonyms & Antonyms for love
Synonyms: Noun
affection, attachment, devotedness, devotion, fondness, passion
Synonyms: Verb
appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value
Antonyms: Noun
abomination, hate, hatred, loathing, rancor
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of love in a Sentence
Noun
Mr. Brown seems to imply that when he retired he relinquished her love as casually as he dispensed with her secretarial services. — Ken Follett, New York Times Book Review, 27 Dec. 1987 … Eddie sees Vince's pure love of pool, and after years of thinking of the game as merely a hustle, the older man suddenly falls back in love with the game himself. — Maureen Dowd, New York Times Magazine, 28 Sept. 1986 Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly, so appealingly, and with such measureless love in her words and her old trembling voice, that he was weltering in tears again, long before she was through. — Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876 Allworthy thus answered: " … I have always thought love the only foundation of happiness in a married state, as it can only produce that high and tender friendship which should always be the cement of this union … " — Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749 Children need unconditional love from their parents. He was just a lonely man looking for love.Verb
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 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 I love either rushing off into abstractions, or shamelessly talking personalities. — Elizabeth Bowen, letter, 28 Apr. 1923 "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 She obviously loves her family very much. You have to love in order to be loved. He swore that he loved her madly. She said she could never marry a man she didn't love.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Pets In Need believes that everyone deserves the love of a pet and every pet deserves quality care. — Jack Walkenhorst, Cincinnati.com, "Column: Shattering preconceived notions of who is ‘in need’," 28 June 2017 And after years on the job, one commonality always rings true: a brokenness, a loneliness, an absence of love or guidance. — Bethany Jones, Marie Claire, "I Know the Darkest Secrets of Some of the Most Brutal Killers of Our Time," 28 June 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
One album cover of theirs could only be accessed via fax initially (sent through a Web app YACHT developed to ID the nearest fax to groups of fans; OfficeMax must’ve loved it). — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "How YACHT fed their old music to the machine and got a killer new album," 31 Aug. 2019 Tennis Twitter — including Sloane Stephens, Martina Navratilova and Joel Embiid — fans loved it. — Michelle R. Martinelli, For The Win, "Naomi Osaka comforted Coco Gauff after match in beautiful U.S. Open moment," 31 Aug. 2019 My father loved to put us to work on whatever interested us. — N.b., The Economist, "Lisa Henson on revisiting “The Dark Crystal”," 30 Aug. 2019 Orcas, which love to dine on shark liver, may have scared them off, researchers say, but human activities could also play a role. — Linda Nordling, Science | AAAS, "Great white sharks have suddenly disappeared from one of their favorite hangouts," 30 Aug. 2019 As the name implies, this is a full-scale sequel to 2003’s Homeworld 2, and a return to the space combat people know and love. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Gearbox finally announces a proper Homeworld sequel, 15 long years later," 30 Aug. 2019 Marchand and Meffre, though, love the stations' dereliction.