What's a Deeper Word for Love
- Top Definitions
- Synonyms
- Quiz
- Related Content
- More About Love
- When To Use
- Examples
- British
- Idioms And Phrases
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.
sexual passion or desire.
a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
(used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?
(initial capital letter) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.
affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.
strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.
the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love.
the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.
Chiefly Tennis. a score of zero; nothing.
a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L.
verb (used with object), loved, lov·ing.
to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her.
to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).
to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music.
to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight.
to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover.
to have sexual intercourse with.
verb (used without object), loved, lov·ing.
to have love or affection for another person; be in love.
Verb Phrases
love up, to hug and cuddle: She loves him up every chance she gets.
VIDEO FOR LOVE
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?
Idioms about love
- out of affection or liking; for pleasure.
- without compensation; gratuitously: He took care of the poor for love.
for love,
for the love of, in consideration of; for the sake of: For the love of mercy, stop that noise.
- to embrace and kiss as lovers.
- to engage in sexual activity.
in love, infused with or feeling deep affection or passion: a youth always in love.
in love with, feeling deep affection or passion for (a person, idea, occupation, etc.); enamored of: in love with the girl next door; in love with one's work.
make love,
no love lost, dislike; animosity: There was no love lost between the two brothers.
Origin of love
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English lufu, cognate with Old Frisian luve, Old High German luba, Gothic lubō; (verb) Middle English lov(i)en, Old English lufian; cognate with Old Frisian luvia, Old High German lubōn "to love," Latin lubēre (later libēre ) "to be pleasing"; akin to lief
OTHER WORDS FROM love
outlove, verb (used with object), out·loved, out·lov·ing. o·ver·love, verb, o·ver·loved, o·ver·lov·ing.
Words nearby love
Louÿs, lovable, lovage, lovastatin, lovat, love, loveable, love affair, love apple, love arrows, love at first sight
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
MORE ABOUT LOVE
What is a basic definition of love?
Love is an intense, deep affection for another person. Love also means to feel this intense affection for someone. Love can also refer to a strong like for something or to like something a lot. Love has many other senses both as a verb and a noun.
It is difficult to explain what love is. Love is one of the most intense emotions humans feel in life. It is the opposite of hate, another incredibly intense emotion. When you would do anything for a specific person, that's usually because you feel love for them.
There are many kinds of deep affection you can have for another person, and they can all be described as love. The love you feel for your parents won't be the same love you feel for a close friend or a romantic partner. You can also have a strong emotional bond with an animal, such as your dog. That, too, is love.
- Real-life examples: Spouses hopefully feel love toward each other. It is expected that a parent will have feelings of love for their child. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love.
- Used in a sentence: The man always helped his daughter out of love for her.
Love is used in this same sense to mean to feel love toward another person. People who romantically love each other are said to be "in love" and are called lovers. These terms generally imply romantic or sexual attraction.
- Real-life examples: Romeo loved Juliet. Most parents love their children. A person often loves their boyfriend or girlfriend.
- Used in a sentence: She loves her best friend like a sister.
Love is also used to refer to a less passionate, but still strong, fondness for something.
- Real-life examples: Athletes have a love of sports. Readers have a love of books. Artists may have a love of painting, music, or drawing.
- Used in a sentence: His love of Paris led him to take many trips to France.
In this sense, love can also be used to mean to really like something or someone. The word lover is used to mean a person who really likes something, as in a "dog lover" or a "food lover."
- Real-life examples: Cats love to chase things. Outgoing people love being around other people. Couch potatoes love television.
- Used in a sentence: I love going to the zoo and seeing all the animals.
Where does love come from?
The first records of love come from before the 900s. The noun comes from the Old English word lufu, and the verb comes from the Old English lufian. Both of these words are related to older words for love, such as the Old Frisian luve and luvia.
Did you know … ?
How is love used in real life?
Love is a very common word that people use to refer to others that they cherish or to things they really like.
I love my sister so much she's my best friend 💕💞💘💓💗
— LV (@_lovee_lupe) November 25, 2020
I like how my friends send me random cat memes because they know how much I love cats❤️
— please tell me to go study (@mutale019) November 25, 2020
"I sustain myself with the love of family." #MayaAngelou
— Maya Angelou (@DrMayaAngelou) November 29, 2020
Try using love!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of love?
A. affection
B. infatuation
C. desire
D. hate
WHEN TO USE
What are other ways to saylove?
The noun love refers to a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. When should you use love in place of affection or devotion ? Find out on Thesaurus.com .
How to use love in a sentence
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Every now and again, we come across a love story that touches our hearts in more ways than be.
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Again, I didn't think much of it as a 15-year-old, but I just had a love for food.
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Ideally you should be growing and evolving at similar rates and speeds for romantic love, I should say.
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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.
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To be a real home cook, the kind who put love and attention into each dish, was to make everything yourself.
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What happened to true love knows no boundaries and all that?
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"I love my job and I love my city and I am committed to the work here," he said in a statement.
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And we have a lot of great guests this season: Greta Gerwig, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi is back—I love that guy.
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You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
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Terrorism is bad news anywhere, but especially rough on Odessa, where the city motto seems to be "make love, not war."
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In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
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The well-known "cock and bull" stories of small children are inspired by this love of strong effect.
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Women generally consider consequences in love, seldom in resentment.
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And as she hesitated between obedience to one and duty toward the other, her life, her love and future was in the balance.
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Nothing but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my story.
British Dictionary definitions for love
verb
(tr) to have a great attachment to and affection for
(tr) to have passionate desire, longing, and feelings for
(tr) to like or desire (to do something) very much
(tr) to make love to
(intr) to be in love
noun
- an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing
- (as modifier) love song; love story
a deep feeling of sexual attraction and desire
wholehearted liking for or pleasure in something
Christianity
- God's benevolent attitude towards man
- man's attitude of reverent devotion towards God
Also: my love a beloved person: used esp as an endearment
British informal a term of address, esp but not necessarily for a person regarded as likable
(in tennis, squash, etc) a score of zero
fall in love to become in love
for love without payment
for love or money (used with a negative) in any circumstances I wouldn't eat a snail for love or money
for the love of for the sake of
in love in a state of strong emotional attachment and usually sexual attraction
make love
- to have sexual intercourse (with)
- archaic to engage in courtship (with)
Other words from love
Related adjective: amatory
Word Origin for love
Old English lufu; related to Old High German luba; compare also Latin libēre (originally lubēre) to please
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with love
In addition to the idioms beginning with love
- love affair
- love at first sight
also see:
- all's fair in love and war
- course of true love
- fall in love
- for the love of
- labor of love
- make love
- misery loves company
- no love lost
- not for love or money
- puppy love
- somebody up there loves me
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/love