love

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love

 (lŭv)
n.
1. A strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship.
2. A strong feeling of affection and concern for another person accompanied by sexual attraction.
3.
a. A feeling of devotion or adoration toward God or a god.
b. A feeling of kindness or concern by God or a god toward humans.
c. often Love Christianity Charity.
4.
a. Sexual desire or activity: the pleasures of love; a night of love.
b. An instance of being in love: Teenage loves can be as fleeting as they are intense.
5.
a. A person for whom one has strong feelings of affection: She met her new love at the restaurant.
b. Used as a term of endearment for such a person.
6. An intense emotional attachment to something, as to a pet or treasured object.
7. An expression of one's affection: Send him my love.
8.
a. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language; love for the game of golf.
b. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love.
9. Love Mythology Eros or Cupid.
10. Sports A score of zero, as in tennis.
v. loved, lov·ing, loves
v.tr.
1. To feel love for (a person): We love our parents. I love my friends.
2. To feel sexual love for (a person).
3.
a. To feel devotion to (God or a god).
b. To feel or show kindness or concern to (a person). Used of God or a god.
4. To have an intense emotional attachment to: loves his house.
5.
a. To embrace or caress: They were loving each other on the sofa.
b. To have sexual intercourse with.
6. To like or desire enthusiastically: loves swimming.
7. To thrive on; need: The cactus loves hot, dry air.
v.intr.
To feel love or sexual love for another.
Idioms:
for love
Out of compassion; with no thought for a reward: She volunteers at the hospital for love.
for love or money
Under any circumstances. Usually used in negative sentences: I would not do that for love or money.
for the love of
For the sake of; in consideration for: did it all for the love of praise.
in love
1. Deeply or passionately enamored: a young couple in love.
2. Highly or immoderately fond: in love with Japanese painting; in love with the sound of her own voice.
no love lost
No affection; animosity: There's no love lost between them.
[Middle English, from Old English lufu; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

love

(lʌv)
vb
1. (tr) to have a great attachment to and affection for
2. (tr) to have passionate desire, longing, and feelings for
3. (tr) to like or desire (to do something) very much
4. (tr) to make love to
5. (intr) to be in love
n
6.
a. an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing
b. (as modifier): love song; love story.
7. a deep feeling of sexual attraction and desire
8. wholehearted liking for or pleasure in something
9. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity
a. God's benevolent attitude towards man
b. man's attitude of reverent devotion towards God
10. Also: my love a beloved person: used esp as an endearment
11. informal Brit a term of address, esp but not necessarily for a person regarded as likable
12. (Individual Sports, other than specified) (in tennis, squash, etc) a score of zero
13. fall in love to become in love
14. for love without payment
15. for love or money (used with a negative) in any circumstances: I wouldn't eat a snail for love or money.
16. for the love of for the sake of
17. in love in a state of strong emotional attachment and usually sexual attraction
18. make love
a. to have sexual intercourse (with)
b. archaic to engage in courtship (with)
[Old English lufu; related to Old High German luba; compare also Latin libēre (originally lubēre) to please]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

love

(lʌv)

n., v. loved, lov•ing. n.
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, esp. when based on sexual attraction.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection.
3. a person toward whom love is felt.
4. a love affair.
5. sexual activity.
6. (cap.) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.
7. affectionate concern for the well-being of others: love of one's neighbor.
8. a strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking: a love of books.
9. the object of such liking or enthusiasm: The theater was her great love.
10. the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.
11. a score of zero, as in tennis.
v.t.
12. to have love or affection for.
13. to have a strong liking for: to love music.
14. to need or require: Plants love sunlight.
15. to embrace and kiss as a lover.
16. to have sexual intercourse with.
v.i.
17. to feel the emotion of love.
Idioms:
1. in love (with), infused with or feeling deep affection or passion (for); enamored (of).
2. make love,
a. to have sexual relations.
b. to neck; pet.
c. to court; woo.
[before 900; Middle English lov(i)en, Old English lufian, c. Old Saxon, Old High German lubōn, Old Norse lofa]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

love

- From Old English lufu, connected with Sanskrit lubh, "to desire," and Latin lubere, "to please."
See also related terms for please.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

Love


free-lovism
the doctrine or practice of having sexual relations without marriage or any other commitment to an obligation.
inamorata
a female lover or a woman who is loved.
inamorato
a male lover or a man who is loved.
philauty
Obsolete, self love; an excessive regard for oneself.
philostorgy
Obsolete, natural love or affection.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Love

 

See Also: FRIENDSHIP; LOVE, DEFINED; MEN AND WOMEN

  1. Absence in love is like waters upon fire; a little quickens, but much extinguishes it —Hannah More
  2. All loving emotions, like plants, shoot up most rapidly in the tempestuous atmosphere of life —Jean Paul Richter
  3. Amorous as Emma Bovary —James G. Huneker
  4. Could love forever run like a river —Lord Byron
  5. Falling in love is something you forget, like pain —Nina Bawden
  6. Felt love like a lottery prize —Geoffrey Wolff
  7. First and passionate love, it stands alone, like Adam’s recollection of his fall —Lord Byron
  8. The force of her love … is bulky and hard to carry, like a package that keeps untying —Louise Erdrich
  9. Going through life without love is like going through a good dinner without an appetite; everything seems flat and tasteless —Helen Rowland
  10. Her love was like the swallow’s, whose first thought is for its nest —Italo Svevo
  11. If love were what the rose is, and I were like the leaf, our lives would grow together —Algernon Charles Swinburne
  12. I love you as New Englanders love pie —Don Marquis
  13. Infatuation like paralysis, is often all on one side —Helen Rowland
  14. It [love] could, like grief, grow forgetful and weary and slowly wear away —Alice Mc Dermott
  15. Knew as much about love as a pig knows about St. Valentine’s Day —Harry Prince
  16. Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much —Wendell Berry

    This line from a poem entitled The Country of Marriage is followed by: “We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst we cannot have it all, or want it all.”

  17. Love as an old man loves money, with no stomach —William Shakespeare
  18. Love burst out … all over our bodies, like sweat —Yehuda Amichai
  19. Love can die of truth as friendship of a lie —Abel Bonard
  20. Love … comes as a butterfly tipped with gold —Algernon Charles Swinburne
  21. Love comes into your being like a tidal wave … sometimes it withdraws like a wave, till there isn’t such a thing as a pool left, and every bit of your heart is as dry as seaweed beyond the wave’s reach —Phyllis Bottome
  22. Love comforts like sunshine after rain —William Shakespeare

    The original simile as used in Venus and Adonis had the word ‘comforts’ spelled as ‘comforteth.’

  23. Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new —Ursula K. Le Guin
  24. Love … entered the room like a miracle —Milan Kundera
  25. Love had seized her as unexpectedly as would sudden death —Elizabeth Taylor
  26. (Our cook is in love.) Love hangs on the house like a mist —Phyllis McGinley
  27. Love hung still as crystal over the bed —Louis MacNeice
  28. Love is fierce as death —The Holy Bible/Song of Songs
  29. Love is flower-like —Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  30. Love is … fresh as dew when first it is new —British folk song, “The Water Is Wide” (The Good Times Songbook, Abingdon Press, 1974)

    The complete refrain includes yet another simile: “Oh, love is sweet and love is fair, fresh as the dew when first it is new, but love grows old and waxeth cold, and fades away like morning dew.”

  31. Love is like the moon; when it does not increase it decreases —Joseph Alexandre Pierre Segur
  32. Love is … lone as the sea, and deeper blue —Dorothy Parker
  33. Love … it makes him [the lover] fluent as a tin whistle, as limber as a boy’s watch chain, and as polite as a dancing master —Josh Billings

    Parts originally in the Billing phonetic dialect: ‘whisseF and ‘perlite’ as a ‘dansing.’

  34. Loveless as the multiplication table —Sylvia Plath
  35. Love life … just about as interesting as the love life of the desert horned toad —William Saroyan
  36. Love, like a tear, rises in the eye and falls upon the breast —Publius Syrus
  37. Love like chicken salad or restaurant hash, must be taken on blind faith or it loses all its flavor —Helen Rowland
  38. Love, like death, a universal leveller of mankind —William Congreve
  39. Love, like death, changes everything —Kahlil Gibran
  40. Love, like fire, cannot subsist without constant impulse; it ceases to live from the moment it ceases to hope or to fear —Francois, due de La Rochefoucauld
  41. Love, like money, is probably best kept in the family —William Gaddis, New York Times Book Review, May 24, 1987

    Gaddis used this simile to conclude his review of Saul Bellow’s novel, More Die of Heartbreak.

  42. Love passed between them like a field of light —Ellen Gilchrist
  43. Love … pricks like a thorn —William Shakespeare
  44. Love … roots up the will like a leaf —Gustave Flaubert
  45. Lovers are always in a hurry … like a racing river —Ben Ames Williams
  46. Lovers fail like seasons —F. D. Reeve
  47. Love’s dominion, like a king’s, admits of no partition —Ovid
  48. Love sometimes is like the flower of the wild poppy: you can’t carry it home —Jaroslav Seifert
  49. Love was a treadmill, like churchgoing —Elizabeth Hardwick
  50. Love washes on me like rain on a dead man’s shoes —Ellen Gilchrist
  51. Love without grace is like a hook without bait —Anne de Lencos
  52. Love without respect is cold as a boa constrictor —Marge Piercy

    In her poem, Witnessing a Wedding, Piercy continues with its caresses as choking.

  53. Loving someone that much younger is like taking a trip to a foreign country —Ellen Gilchrist
  54. Making love to a woman too many times is like scratching a place that doesn’t itch any more —Anon, Playboy, 1965
  55. A man in love may behave like a madman but not like a dunce —Francois, due de La Rochefoucauld

    Man has been substituted for gentleman to give the simile a more modern tone.

  56. The man who is not loved hovers like a vulture over the sweetheart of others —Victor Hugo
  57. My heart simmered with angry love like chicken soup on grandma’s stove —James Atlas
  58. My love is like foliage in the woods. Time will change it as winter changes the trees —Emily Bronte

    The love described is Cathy’s for Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights.

  59. Once love is purged of vanity it is like a feeble convalescent, hardly capable of dragging itself around —Sebastien Roch Nicolas de Chamfort
  60. Our love is like our life; there’s no man blest in either till his end —Shackerley Marmion
  61. Our love is like the misty rain that falls softly … but floods the river —African proverb
  62. (What I want … is something organic … ) potato love, natural as earth, scruffy and brown, clinging to your roots, helping you grow fit and firm —Daphne Merkin
  63. Romance, like a ghost, eludes touching —G. W. Curtis
  64. Romance, like alcohol, should be enjoyed but must not be swallowed to become necessary —Edgar Z. Friedenberg
  65. Romantic love is ephemeral and occasionally unavoidable … like the viral flu —Marcia Froelke Coburn, New York Time Book Review, September 14, 1986
  66. A rush of love swamped her heart … like a tide —Vita Sackville-West
  67. The science of love demands delicacy, perseverance, and practice, like the piano —Anatole France
  68. The simple accident of falling in love is as beneficial as it is astonishing —Robert Louis Stevenson
  69. (She was long married … but she had recently) stepped out of the country of love; briskly, and without a backward glance, as if she had spent too much time in its steamy jungles —John Cheever
  70. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards. Like bridge you had to pretend you were playing for money or playing for some stakes —Ernest Hemingway
  71. Threw herself into love like a suicide into the river —Guy De Maupassant
  72. To love a woman who scorns you is like licking honey from a thorn —Welsh proverb
  73. To talk of honour in the mysteries of love, is like talking of Heaven or the Deity in an operation of witchcraft, just when you are employing the devil: it makes the charm impotent —William Wycherley
  74. Trapped in love … like a great tortoise trapped in a heavy death-like shell —Joyce Carol Oates
  75. It [being loved by affectionately possessive wife] was like being loved by a large moist sponge —Phyllis Bottome
  76. Without love our life is … unprofitable as a ship without a rudder … like a body without a soul —Sholom Aleichem
  77. With true loves as with ghosts: everyone speaks of them, but few have seen them —Francois, due de La Rochefoucauld
  78. (I) wore my heart like a wet, red stain on the breast of a velvet gown —Dorothy Parker
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Love

 

get under [someone’s] skin See IRRITATION.

heartthrob A lover, paramour, or sweetheart; a romantic idol. This common expression describes the exhilarating cardiac pulsations that supposedly accompany every thought, sight, or touch of one’s true love. Heartthrob may also refer to a celebrity of whom one is enamored.

Rudolph Valentino was the great heartthrob of the silent screen in the nineteen-twenties. (Listener, June, 1966)

hold one’s heart in one’s hand To offer one’s love to another; to make an open display of one’s love. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest (III, i), Ferdinand offers his hand to Miranda, to which she responds in kind:

And mine, with my heart in it.

Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s, also used this expression.

With this hand I give to you my heart. (Dido, III, iv)

look babies in the eyes To gaze lovingly into another’s eyes; to look at closely and amorously. Two unrelated theories have been advanced as to the origin of this expression. One states that the reference is to Cupid, the Roman god of love, commonly pictured as a winged, naked baby boy with a bow and arrows. The other maintains that the phrase originated from the miniature reflection of a person staring closely in the pupils of another’s eyes. In use as early as 1593, the term, now obsolete, was used to describe the amorous gaze of lovers:

She clung about his neck, gave him ten kisses.
Toyed with his locks, looked babies in his eyes.
(Thomas Hey wood, Love’s Mistress, 1633)

love-tooth in the head A propensity to love. This obsolete expression implies a constant craving for romance.

I am now old, but I have in my head a love-tooth. (John Lyly, Euphues and His England, 1580)

rob the cradle To date, marry, or become romantically involved with a significantly younger person. This self-explanatory expression, often substituted by the equally common term cradlesnatch, usually carries an implication of disapproval.

I don’t usually cradlesnatch. But there was something about you that made me think you were older. (J. Aiken, Ribs of Death, 1967)

take a shine to To take a liking or fancy to, to be fond of, to have a crush on. This colloquialism of American origin dates from the mid-19th century. Perhaps shine refers to the “bright and glowing” look often attributed to love.

I wonst had an old flame I took sum thin of a shine to. (Davy Crockett’s Almanac, 1840)

wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve To make no attempt to hide one’s lovesickness; to plainly show that one is suffering from unrequited love; to publicly expose one’s feelings or personal)? wishes. This expression is said to come from the practice of a knight wearing his lady’s favor pinned to his sleeve when going into combat. In Shakespeare’s Othello (I, i), the duplicitous lago says:

For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at.

Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1980 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

love

The verb love is usually used to express a strong feeling of affection for a person or place.

She loved her husband deeply.
He had loved his aunt very much.
He loved his country above all else.

If you want to say that something gives you pleasure, or that you enjoy a person's company, you usually say like, not 'love'.

I like reading.
We liked him very much.

In conversation and in less formal writing, people sometimes use love to emphasize that they like a thing or activity very much.

I love your dress.
I love reading his plays.

Love is usually used in simple rather than progressive forms. For example, you say 'I love you', not 'I'm loving you'. However, in informal spoken English, love is sometimes used in the progressive.

I'm loving your new hairdo!
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

love


Past participle: loved
Gerund: loving

Imperative
love
love
Present
I love
you love
he/she/it loves
we love
you love
they love
Preterite
I loved
you loved
he/she/it loved
we loved
you loved
they loved
Present Continuous
I am loving
you are loving
he/she/it is loving
we are loving
you are loving
they are loving
Present Perfect
I have loved
you have loved
he/she/it has loved
we have loved
you have loved
they have loved
Past Continuous
I was loving
you were loving
he/she/it was loving
we were loving
you were loving
they were loving
Past Perfect
I had loved
you had loved
he/she/it had loved
we had loved
you had loved
they had loved
Future
I will love
you will love
he/she/it will love
we will love
you will love
they will love
Future Perfect
I will have loved
you will have loved
he/she/it will have loved
we will have loved
you will have loved
they will have loved
Future Continuous
I will be loving
you will be loving
he/she/it will be loving
we will be loving
you will be loving
they will be loving
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been loving
you have been loving
he/she/it has been loving
we have been loving
you have been loving
they have been loving
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been loving
you will have been loving
he/she/it will have been loving
we will have been loving
you will have been loving
they will have been loving
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been loving
you had been loving
he/she/it had been loving
we had been loving
you had been loving
they had been loving
Conditional
I would love
you would love
he/she/it would love
we would love
you would love
they would love
Past Conditional
I would have loved
you would have loved
he/she/it would have loved
we would have loved
you would have loved
they would have loved
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

love

A score of zero.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.love - a strong positive emotion of regard and affectionlove - a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love"
emotion - any strong feeling
adoration, worship - a feeling of profound love and admiration
agape love, agape - selfless love of one person for another without sexual implications (especially love that is spiritual in nature)
agape - (Christian theology) the love of God or Christ for mankind
filial love - the love of a child for a parent
ardor, ardour - intense feeling of love
amorousness, enamoredness - a feeling of love or fondness
calf love, puppy love, infatuation, crush - temporary love of an adolescent
devotedness, devotion - feelings of ardent love; "their devotion to each other was beautiful"
benevolence - disposition to do good
heartstrings - your deepest feelings of love and compassion; "many adoption cases tug at the heartstrings"
caring, lovingness - a loving feeling
loyalty - feelings of allegiance
hate, hatred - the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
2.love - any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love"; "he has a passion for cock fighting";
passion
object - the focus of cognitions or feelings; "objects of thought"; "the object of my affection"
3.love - a beloved personlove - a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
beloved, dear, dearest, honey
lover - a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
4.love - a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction; "their love left them indifferent to their surroundings"; "she was his first love"
erotic love, sexual love
concupiscence, physical attraction, sexual desire, eros - a desire for sexual intimacy
5.love - a score of zero in tennis or squash; "it was 40 love"
score - a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest; "the score was 7 to 0"
6.love - sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two peoplelove - sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people; "his lovemaking disgusted her"; "he hadn't had any love in months"; "he has a very complicated love life"
love life, lovemaking, making love, sexual love
sex activity, sexual activity, sexual practice - activities associated with sexual intercourse; "they had sex in the back seat"
Verb1.love - have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him"
love - be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply"
cherish, hold dear, treasure, care for - be fond of; be attached to
dote - shower with love; show excessive affection for; "Grandmother dotes on her the twins"
adore - love intensely; "he just adored his wife"
detest, hate - dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards; "I hate Mexican food"; "She detests politicians"
2.love - get pleasure from; "I love cooking"
enjoy
like - find enjoyable or agreeable; "I like jogging"; "She likes to read Russian novels"
get off - enjoy in a sexual way; "He gets off on shoes"
3.love - be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply"
love - have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him"
romance - have a love affair with
4.love - have sexual intercourse withlove - have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?"
bonk, do it, eff, fuck, get it on, get laid, have a go at it, have intercourse, have it away, have it off, have sex, be intimate, lie with, make love, roll in the hay, screw, sleep together, sleep with, hump, jazz, bed, bang, make out, know
neck, make out - kiss, embrace, or fondle with sexual passion; "The couple were necking in the back seat of the car"
have, take - have sex with; archaic use; "He had taken this woman when she was most vulnerable"
copulate, mate, couple, pair - engage in sexual intercourse; "Birds mate in the Spring"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

love

verb
1. adore, care for, treasure, cherish, prize, worship, be devoted to, be attached to, be in love with, dote on, hold dear, think the world of, idolize, feel affection for, have affection for, adulate, LUV (S.M.S.) We love each other, and we want to spend our lives together.
adore hate, dislike, scorn, detest, abhor, abominate
2. enjoy, like, desire, fancy, appreciate, relish, delight in, savour, take pleasure in, have a soft spot for, be partial to, have a weakness for, LUV (S.M.S.) We loved the food so much, especially the fish dishes.
enjoy hate, dislike, scorn, detest, abhor, abominate
3. cuddle, neck (informal), kiss, pet, embrace, caress, fondle, LUV (S.M.S.), canoodle (slang) the loving and talking that marked an earlier stage of the relationship
noun
1. passion, liking, regard, friendship, affection, warmth, attachment, intimacy, devotion, tenderness, fondness, rapture, adulation, adoration, infatuation, ardour, endearment, amity, LUV (S.M.S.) Our love for each other has been increased by what we've been through together.
passion hate, disgust, hostility, dislike, hatred, resentment, loathing, bitterness, scorn, malice, animosity, aversion, antagonism, antipathy, bad blood, abomination, incompatibility, ill will, abhorrence, repugnance, detestation
2. liking, taste, delight in, bent for, weakness for, relish for, enjoyment, devotion to, penchant for, inclination for, zest for, fondness for, soft spot for, partiality to, LUV (S.M.S.) a love of literature
3. beloved, dear, dearest, sweet, lover, angel, darling, honey, loved one, sweetheart, truelove, dear one, leman (archaic), inamorata or inamorato, LUV (S.M.S.) Don't cry, my love.
beloved enemy, foe
4. sympathy, understanding, heart, charity, pity, humanity, warmth, mercy, compassion, sorrow, kindness, tenderness, friendliness, condolence, commiseration, fellow feeling, soft-heartedness, tender-heartedness, LUV (S.M.S.) a manifestation of his love for his fellow men.
5. greetings, regards, compliments, best wishes, good wishes, kind regards, LUV (S.M.S.) She's fine and sends her love.
fall in love with someone lose your heart to, fall for, be taken with, take a shine to (informal), become infatuated with, fall head over heels in love with, be swept off your feet by, bestow your affections on I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.
for love without payment, freely, for nothing, free of charge, gratis, pleasurably She does it for love - not money.
for love or money by any means, ever, under any conditions Replacement parts couldn't be found for love or money.
in love enamoured, charmed, captivated, smitten, wild (informal), mad (informal), crazy (informal), enthralled, besotted, infatuated, enraptured She had never before been in love.
make love have sexual intercourse, have sex, go to bed, sleep together, do it (informal), mate, have sexual relations, have it off (slang), have it away (slang) After six months of friendship, one night, they made love.
Related words
adjective amatory
Quotations
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" [Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnets from the Portuguese]
"All that matters is love and work" [attributed to Sigmund Freud]
"Love's pleasure lasts but a moment; love's sorrow lasts all through life" [Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Celestine]
"What love is, if thou wouldst be taught,"
"Thy heart must teach alone -"
"Two souls with but a single thought,"
"Two hearts that beat as one" [Friedrich Halm Der Sohn der Wildnis]
"Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it" [Jerome K. Jerome The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow]
"Love's like the measles - all the worse when it comes late in life" [Douglas Jerrold Wit and Opinions of Douglas Jerrold]
"No, there's nothing half so sweet in life"
"As love's young dream" [Thomas Moore Love's Young Dream]
"'Tis better to have loved and lost"
"Than never to have loved at all" [Alfred, Lord Tennyson In Memoriam A.H.H.]
"Love means never having to say you're sorry" [Erich Segal Love Story]
"In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish'd dove;"
"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love" [Alfred, Lord Tennyson Locksley Hall]
"Love is like any other luxury. You have no right to it unless you can afford it" [Anthony Trollope The Way we Live Now]
"Love conquers all things; let us too give in to love" [Virgil Eclogue]
"Love and do what you will" [Saint Augustine of Hippo In Epistolam Joannis ad Parthos]
"Those have most power to hurt us that we love" [Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher The Maid's Tragedy]
"My love's a noble madness" [John Dryden All for Love]
"And love's the noblest frailty of the mind" [John Dryden The Indian Emperor]
"Love's tongue is in the eyes" [Phineas Fletcher Piscatory Eclogues]
"Love is only one of many passions" [Dr. Johnson Plays of William Shakespeare, preface]
"Where both deliberate, the love is slight;"
"Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?" [Christopher Marlowe Hero and Leander]
"If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question?" [Lily Tomlin]
"Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure" [Lord Byron Don Juan]
"The course of true love never did run smooth" [William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream]
"Love is not love"
"Which alters when it alteration finds" [William Shakespeare Sonnets]
"Love is like linen - often changed, the sweeter" [Phineas Fletcher Sicelides]
"O my love's like a red, red rose" [Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose]
"Two things a man cannot hide: that he is drunk, and that he is in love" [Antiphanes]
"Every man is a poet when he is in love" [Plato Symposium]
"one that lov'd not wisely but too well" [William Shakespeare Othello]
"To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god" [Jorge Luis Borges The Meeting in a Dream]
"Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away" [Dorothy Parker]
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction" [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]
"Love ceases to be a pleasure, when it ceases to be a secret" [Aphra Behn The Lover's Watch, Four O'Clock]
"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it" Bible: Song of Solomon
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" Bible: St. John
"O lyric Love, half-angel and half-bird"
"And all a wonder and a wild desire" [Robert Browning The Ring and the Book]
"Man's love is of man's life a thing apart,"
"'Tis woman's whole existence" [Lord Byron Don Juan]
"Whoever loves, if he do not propose"
"The right true end of love, he's one that goes"
"To sea for nothing but to make him sick" [John Donne Love's Progress]
"I am two fools, I know,"
"For loving, and for saying so"
"In whining poetry" [John Donne The Triple Fool]
"How alike are the groans of love to those of the dying" [Malcolm Lowry Under the Volcano]
"Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another" [H.L. Mencken Chrestomathy]
"After all, my erstwhile dear,"
"My no longer cherished,"
"Need we say it was not love,"
"Now that love has perished?" [Edna St. Vincent Millay Passer Mortuus Est]
"If I am pressed to say why I loved him, I feel it can only be explained by replying: `Because it was he; because it was me.'" [Montaigne Essais]
"Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies" [John Donne The Anagram]
"Love thy neighbour as thyself" Bible: Leviticus
Proverbs
"All's fair in love and war"
"Love is blind"
"One cannot love and be wise"
"Love makes the world go round"
"Love will find a way"
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

love

noun
1. Deep and ardent affection:
adoration, devotion, worship.
2. The passionate affection and desire felt by lovers for each other:
amorousness, fancy, passion, romance.
3. An intimate sexual relationship between two people:
affair, amour, love affair, romance.
4. The condition of being closely tied to another by affection or faith:
affection, attachment, devotion, fondness, liking, loyalty (used in plural).
5. A person who is much loved:
beloved, darling, dear, honey, minion, precious, sweet, sweetheart, truelove.
Informal: sweetie.
Idiom: light of one's life.
6. A strong, enthusiastic liking for something:
love affair, passion, romance.
verb
1. To feel deep, devoted love for:
adore, worship.
2. To like or enjoy enthusiastically, often excessively:
adore, delight (in), dote on (or upon).
Slang: eat up, groove on.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
حُبحُبٌحَبيب، مَعْشوقصِفْر، لا شيءعِشْق، غَرام
láskamilovatnulazamilovanostzbožňovat
elskekærlighednulelskerskat
LiebeliebennullSchatzLieber
αγάπηαγαπώαισθηματικόςεκτιμώέρωτας
amatoamiamoamorinulo
amorencantarquereramargustar
armastamaarmastus
rakastaarakkauskultanollarakas
aimeramourapprécierestimerpassion
ljubavvoljeti
szerelemszerelmeszerelmeskedikszeretszeretet
cinta
ástástfanginnelskaelska, òykja vænt umhafa dálæti á
amareamorecari salutidesideraredisinteressatamente
･･･が大好きだ愛愛する
사랑사랑하다
amatoramatrixamoamorcaritas
įsimylėjėlisįsimylėjimasjie nepakenčia vienas kitomeilėmeilės kamuojamas
mīlestībamīlētmīlamīļaismīļumiņš
houden vanliefdeliefhebbennulschat
elskekjærlighetnulllikemin elskede
miłośćpokochaćuwielbiaćkochaćkochać się
amaramoradorarzero
amordragosteiubireiubitiubită
любовьлюбитьнольлюбимаялюбимый
láskazamilovanosť
ljubezenljubicaljubitiljubiti senič
voleti
älskakärleknollälsklingkäresta
ความรักรักรัก ชื่นชอบ
sevgisevmekaşkbüyük zevk almakçok sevmek
коханнялюбов
tình yêuyêucưngkhông
爱喜爱喜欢爱好爱情

love

[lʌv]
A. N
1. (= affection) [of person] → amor m
I no longer feel any love for or towards him → ya no siento amor or cariño por él
it was love at first sight → fue amor a primera vista, fue un flechazo
her love for or of her children → su amor m por sus hijos
her children's love for her → el amor de sus hijos por ella
don't give me any money, I'm doing it for love → no me des dinero, lo hago por amor al arte (hum)
to marry for love → casarse por amor
for love of her son; out of love for her son → por amor a su hijo, por el amor que le tiene/tenía a su hijo
for the love of God or Mike! → ¡por el amor de Dios!
to be/fall in love (with sb) → estar enamorado/enamorarse (de algn)
they are in love (with each other) → están enamorados (el uno del otro)
to make love (with/to sb) (euph) (= have sex) → hacer el amor (con algn)
to make love to sb (o.f.) (= woo) → hacer la corte or el amor a algn
there is no love lost between them → no se pueden ver
I wouldn't do it for love nor money → no lo haría por nada del mundo
it wasn't to be had for love nor money → era imposible conseguirlo
2. (= liking) [of activity, food, place] → afición f, pasión f
her love of colour comes out in her garden → su afición f or pasión f por el colorido se refleja en su jardín
he studies history for the love of it → estudia historia por pura afición
3. (in greetings, letters) (with) love (from) Jim → con cariño (de) Jim, besos (de) Jim
all my love, Jim → con todo mi cariño, Jim
give him my love → dale or mándale recuerdos míos
lots of love, Jim → muchos besos, Jim
he sends (you) his love → te da or manda recuerdos
4. (= person loved) → amor m; (= thing loved) → pasión f
she was my first love → fue mi primer amor
football was his first love → el fútbol era su principal pasión
the theatre was her great love → el teatro era su gran pasión
he was the love of her life → fue el amor de su vida
5. (as term of address) → cariño m
yes, love → si, cariño
thanks, love (to woman) → gracias, guapa or (Sp) maja; (to man) → gracias, guapo or (Sp) majo; (to child) → gracias, cielo or cariño
my love → amor mío, mi vida
6. (= adorable person) he's a little love → es un cielo, es un encanto
be a love and make us a cup of tea → venga, cielo or cariño, prepáranos una taza de té
7. (Tennis) love all → cero cero
15 love → 15 a cero
B. VT
1. (= feel affection for) → querer, amar (frm)
you don't love me any more → ya no me quieres
I loved that boy as if he were my own son → quería a ese chico como si fuera mi hijo
love thy neighbour as thyself → ama al prójimo como a ti mismo (frm)
she loves her children/her cat/that car → quiere mucho a or siente mucho cariño por sus hijos/su gato/ese coche
she loved him dearly → lo quería muchísimo, lo amaba profundamente
I must love you and leave you > (hum) → me despido que me tengo que marchar
love me, love my dog → quien quiere a Beltrán quiere a su can
she loves me, she loves me not → me quiere, no me quiere
2. (= like very much) I love strawberries → me encantan las fresas
I love Madrid → me encanta Madrid, me gusta muchísimo Madrid
"would you like a drink?" - "I'd love one" → -¿quieres tomar algo? -¡sí, por favor!
I'd love a beer → daría cualquier cosa por una cerveza
he loves swimming; he loves to swim → le encanta nadar, le gusta muchísimo nadar
I'd love to come → me encantaría ir, me gustaría muchísimo ir
I'd love to! → ¡con mucho gusto!, ¡yo, encantado!
C. CPD love affair N → aventura f (sentimental), amorío m (fig) → pasión f
her love affair with France began in 1836 → su pasión por Francia comenzó en 1836
she had a love affair with a younger man → tuvo una aventura (sentimental) or un amorío con un hombre más joven que ella
love child N → hijo/a m/f natural
love game N (Tennis) → juego m en blanco
love handles NPL → agarraderas fpl
love letter N → carta f de amor
love life N (emotional) → vida f sentimental; (sexual) → vida f sexual
how's your love life these days? → ¿qué tal te va la vida últimamente en el campo sentimental or romántico?
love match N → matrimonio m por amor
love nest N → nido m de amor
love potion N → filtro m (de amor), bebedizo m (de amor)
love seat N → confidente m, canapé m
love song N → canción f de amor
love story N → historia f de amor
love token N → prenda f de amor, prueba f de amor
love triangle N → triángulo m amoroso
LOVE
Love can usually be translated by querer.
• With people, pets and native lands, querer is the most typical translation:
I love you Te quiero Timmy loves his mother more than his father Timmy quiere más a su madre que a su padre When he lived abroad he realized how much he loved his country Cuando vivió en el extranjero, se dio cuenta de lo mucho que quería a su país
• Querer is commonly used with mucho in statements like the following:
I love my parents Quiero mucho a mis padres He loved his cat and was very depressed when it died Quería mucho a su gato y tuvo una gran depresión cuando murió
• Use amar, especially in formal language, to talk about spiritual or elevated forms of love:
To love God above everything else Amar a Dios sobre todas las cosas Their duty was to love and respect their parents Su deber era amar y respetar a sus padres
• Use the impersonal encantarle a uno to talk about things and people that you like very much:
He loved playing tennis Le encantaba jugar al tenis I love children (A mí) me encantan los niños
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

love

[ˈlʌv]
n
(for person) → amour m
sb's love for sb → l'amour de qn pour qn
his love for his wife and children → son amour pour sa femme et ses enfants, l'amour qu'il a pour sa femme et ses enfants
no love lost
There is little love lost between them → Ils se détestent.
not for love or money, for love nor money
You can't get a ticket for love or money → Il n'y a pas moyen d'obtenir des billets.
(for thing) → amour m
love of sth [+ music, literature, animals, football] → amour de qch
(romantic, sexual) → amour m
to be in love [one person] → être amoureux/euse; [couple] → s'aimer
to be in love with sb → être amoureux/euse de qn
She's in love with Paul → Elle est amoureuse de Paul.
to fall in love → tomber amoureux/euse
to fall in love with sb → tomber amoureux/euse de qn
to make love → faire l'amour
to make love to sb → faire l'amour avec qn
love at first sight → le coup de foudre
(in greetings) to send one's love to sb, to send sb one's love → adresser ses amitiés à qn
give my love to ...
Give Delphine my love → Embrasse Delphine pour moi.
love from Anne → affectueusement, Anne
love, Rosemary → amitiés, Rosemary
(= dear) (addressing loved one) → mon chéri(ma chérie); (addressing stranger)
Are you OK, love? → Ça va, madame?, Ça va, monsieur?
(TENNIS) "15 love" → "15 à rien", "15 à zéro"
vt
[+ lover, partner, child, parents] → aimer
I love you → Je t'aime.
to feel loved → se sentir aimé(e)
to love each other → s'aimer
(= like very much) [+ person] → aimer beaucoup
Everybody loves her → Tout le monde l'aime beaucoup.
[+ thing, activity] → adorer
I love chocolate → J'adore le chocolat.
I love skiing → J'adore le ski.
to love doing sth, to love to do sth → adorer faire qch
We both love dancing → Nous adorons danser tous les deux.
(expressing wishes) I'd love ... (= would like) → j'aimerais beaucoup ...
I would love a hot bath and clean clothes → J'aimerais beaucoup prendre un bain et me changer.
I'd love you to ...
I'd love you to come → J'aimerais beaucoup que tu viennes.
His wife would love him to give up his job → Sa femme aimerait beaucoup qu'il démissionne.
(response to offer)
I'd love to → Avec grand plaisir.
I'd love to come → Cela me ferait très plaisir de venir., Je serais ravi de venir.love affair n
→ liaison f (amoureuse)
(with idea, activity) → passion f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

love

n
(= affection) → Liebe f; love is … → die Liebe ist …; the love he has for his wife → die Liebe, die er für seine Frau empfindet; to have a love for or of somebody/something → jdn/etw sehr lieben; he has a great love of soccer/music → er ist ein großer Fußballanhänger/Musikliebhaber; love of learning → Freude f → am Lernen; love of adventure → Abenteuerlust f; love of books → Liebe f → zu Büchern; the love of God for his creatures → die Liebe Gottes zu seinen Geschöpfen; love of (one’s) country → Vaterlandsliebe f; for love → aus Liebe; (= free) → umsonst; (= without stakes) → nur zum Vergnügen; for love nor money → nicht für Geld und gute Worte; for the love of → aus Liebe zu; for the love of God! → um Himmels willen!; he studies history for the love of it → er studiert Geschichte aus Liebe zur Sache; to be in love (with somebody) → (in jdn) verliebt sein; to fall in love (with somebody) → sich (in jdn) verlieben; there is no love lost between them → sie können sich nicht ausstehen; to make love (sexually) → sich lieben, miteinander schlafen; (dated) (= flirt) → flirten (to sb mit jdm); (= court) → den Hof machen (dated) → (to sb jdm); to make love to somebody (sexually) → mit jdm schlafen; I’ve never made love → ich habe noch mit keinem/keiner geschlafen; make love to me → liebe mich; he’s good at making love → er ist gut in der Liebe; make love not war → Liebe, nicht Krieg
(= greetings: in letters etc) with all my love → mit herzlichen Grüßen; love from Anna → herzliche Grüße von Anna; give him my love → grüß ihn von mir; to send one’s love to somebody → jdn grüßen lassen; he sends his love → er lässt grüßen
(= sb/sth causing fondness) → Liebe f; yes, (my) love → ja, Liebling or Schatz; she’s the love of my life → sie ist die große Liebe meines Lebens; sport is the love of her life → Sport ist ihre große Liebe; he sent some roses to his love (dated) → er schickte seiner Liebsten (dated) → ein paar Rosen; the child is a little love → das Kind ist ein kleiner Schatz
(inf: form of address) → mein Lieber/meine Liebe; I’m afraid the bus is full, love → der Bus ist leider voll
(Tennis) → null; fifteen love → fünfzehn null
vt → lieben; (= like) thing → gern mögen; they love each other → sie lieben sich; I love tennis → ich mag Tennis sehr gern; (to play) → ich spiele sehr gern Tennis; he loves swimming, he loves to swim → er schwimmt sehr gern or für sein Leben gern; don’t be sad, you know we all love you → sei nicht traurig, du weißt doch, dass wir dich alle sehr gernhaben; I’d love to be with you all the time → ich wäre so gerne die ganze Zeit mit dir zusammen; I’d love a cup of tea → ich hätte (liebend) gern(e) eine Tasse Tee; I’d love to come → ich würde sehr or liebend gern(e) kommen; I should love to! → sehr or liebend gerne!; we’d all love you to come with us → wir würden uns alle sehr freuen, wenn du mitkommen würdest; I love the way she smiles → ich mag es, wie sie lächelt; I love the way he leaves us to do all the work (iro) → ist es nicht toll, wie er uns die ganze Arbeit überlässt (iro); she’s going to love you for this (iro) → das wird sie dir nie vergessen (iro); she’s going to love that (iro) → na, da wird sie sich aber freuen (iro)
vi → lieben

love

:
love affair
n → Liebschaft f, → Verhältnis nt; the Americans’ love with firearms → das innige Verhältnis der Amerikaner zu Schusswaffen
lovebird
n (Orn) → Unzertrennliche(r) m; (fig inf) → Turteltaube f
lovebite
n → Knutschfleck m (inf)
love child
n (dated) → Kind nt → der Liebe (dated)

love

:
love game
n (Tennis) → Zunullspiel nt; Rosewall lost 3 loves → Rosewall verlor 3 Spiele zu null
love handles
pl (inf) → Rettungsring m (hum inf)
love-hate relationship
n → Hassliebe f; they have a love → zwischen ihnen besteht eine Hassliebe
loveless
adj life, marriage → ohne Liebe; home, family, environment → lieblos
love letter
n → Liebesbrief m
love life
n → Liebesleben nt

love

:
lovemaking
n (sexual) → Liebe f; (dated: = flirtation) → Flirt m; (dated: = courting) → Liebeswerben nt (dated); his expert love → sein gekonntes Liebesspiel
love match
n → Liebesheirat f
love nest
n → Liebesnest nt
love philtre (old), love potion
n → Liebestrank m

love

:
love rival
n → Nebenbuhler(in) m(f) (geh)
love seat
n → Zweiersofa
love set
n (Tennis) → Zunullsatz m
lovesick
adj → liebeskrank; to be love → Liebeskummer m → haben
love song
n → Liebeslied nt
love story
n → Liebesgeschichte f
lovestruck
adj → liebestoll
love token
n → Liebespfand nt
love triangle
n → Dreiecksverhältnis nt
love truncheon
n (Brit hum sl: = penis) → Feuerlöscher m (sl)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

love

[lʌv]
1. n
a. love (of, for) → amore m (di, per); (of hobby, object) → passione f (per)
it was love at first sight → è stato amore a prima vista or un colpo di fulmine
he studies history for the love of it → studia storia per il puro piacere di farlo
to be in love (with sb) → essere innamorato/a (di qn)
to fall in love (with sb) → innamorarsi (di qn)
to make love → fare l'amore
to make love to sb (old) (woo) → fare la corte a qn
there is no love lost between them → non si possono soffrire
love from Anne, love, Anne (in letter) → con affetto, Anne
to send one's love to sb → mandare i propri saluti a qn
b. (my) love → amore m (mio), tesoro (mio)
c. (Tennis) love all → zero a zero
"15 love" → "15 a zero"
2. vt (person, spouse, child) → amare; (relative, friend) → voler bene a; (food, activity, place) → amare, adorare
he loves tennis/Florence → gli piace (molto) il tennis/Firenze
he loves swimming or to swim → gli piace (molto) nuotare
I'd love to come → mi piacerebbe molto venire
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

love

(lav) noun
1. a feeling of great fondness or enthusiasm for a person or thing. She has a great love of music; her love for her children.
2. strong attachment with sexual attraction. They are in love with one another.
3. a person or thing that is thought of with (great) fondness (used also as a term of affection). Ballet is the love of her life; Goodbye, love!
4. a score of nothing in tennis. The present score is fifteen love (written 15–0).
verb
1. to be (very) fond of. She loves her children dearly.
2. to take pleasure in. They both love dancing.
ˈlovable adjective
(negative unlovable) easy to love or like; attractive. a lovable child.
ˈlovely adjective
1. (negative unlovely) beautiful; attractive. She is a lovely girl; She looked lovely in that dress.
2. delightful. Someone told me a lovely joke last night, but I can't remember it; a lovely meal.
ˈloveliness noun
ˈlover noun
1. a person who enjoys or admires or has a special affection for something. an art-lover; He is a lover of sport; an animal-lover.
2. a person who is having a love affair with another.
ˈloving adjective
ˈlovingly adverb
love affair
a (temporary and often sexual) relationship between two people who are in love but not married.
ˈlove-letter noun
a letter expressing love.
ˈlovesick adjective
sad because of being in love. a lovesick youth; lovesick glances.
fall in love (with)
to develop feelings of love and sexual attraction (for). He fell in love with her straightaway.
for love or money
in any way at all. We couldn't get a taxi for love or money.
make love
to have sexual intercourse.
there's no love lost between them
they dislike one another.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

love

→ حُبٌ, يُحِبُّ, يَوَدُّ láska, milovat, zbožňovat elske, elsker, kærlighed gern mögen, Liebe, lieben αγάπη, αγαπώ amar, amor, encantar rakastaa, rakkaus aimer, aimer beaucoup, amour ljubav, voljeti amare, amore ･･･が大好きだ, 愛, 愛する 사랑, 사랑하다 houden van, liefde elske, kjærlighet miłość, pokochać, uwielbiać adorar, amar, amor любить, любовь älska, kärlek ความรัก, รัก, รัก ชื่นชอบ sevgi/aşk, sevmek tình yêu, yêu 喜爱, 爱
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

love

n. amor, cariño, afecto;
v. amar, querer;
to fall in ___ → enamorarse;
to fall in ___ with → enamorarse de.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

love

n amor m; in — with enamorado de; to fall in — with enamorarse de; to make — hacer el amor; vt, vi querer, amar; loved one ser querido or amado
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mentioned in
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