caress

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From French caresse, from Italian carezza (“dear”), from Latin cārus (“dear”), from Proto-Indo-European *kāro- (English whore), akin to Sanskrit काम (kāma, “love”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

caress (plural caresses)

  1. An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.
    • Longfellow
      Wooed her with his soft caresses.
    • Macaulay
      He exerted himself to win by indulgence and caresses the hearts of all who were under his command.
  2. A gentle stroking or rubbing.

Verb [edit]

caress (third-person singular simple present caresses, present participle caressing, simple past and past participle caressed)

  1. (transitive) To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle.
    She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.
  2. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (transitive) To show and act on deep closeness shared with another person.
  3. (transitive) To affect as if with a caress.

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

touch or kiss lovingly

Anagrams [edit]

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