darling

¹

[ dahr-ling ]

noun

1. a person very dear to another; one dearly loved.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address.
3. a person or thing in great favor; a favorite:

   She was the darling of caf é society.

adjective

1. very dear; dearly loved:

   my darling child.

2. favorite; cherished.
3. Informal. charming; cute; lovable:

   What a darling baby!

Darling

²

[ dahr-ling ]

noun

1. Jay Nor·wood [nawr, -w, oo, d], Ding, 1876–1962, U.S. political cartoonist.

darling

¹

/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. a person very much loved: often used as a term of address
2. a favourite

   the teacher's darling

adjective

1. beloved
2. much admired; pleasing

   a darling hat

Darling

²

/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. DarlingGrace18151842FEnglishPOLITICS: national heroine Grace. 1815–42, English national heroine, famous for her rescue (1838) of some shipwrecked sailors with her father, a lighthouse keeper

Other Words From

• darling·ly adverb
• darling·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of darling¹

before 900; Middle English derling, Old English dēorling. See dear ¹, -ling ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of darling¹

Old English dēorling; see dear , -ling ¹

Example Sentences

At the time, digital media darlings like BuzzFeed and Mic were building seemingly successful businesses by producing short-form videos to distribute on platforms like Facebook and YouTube and selling branded content deals to advertisers.

From Digiday

It would have counted as a noteworthy accomplishment in artificial intelligence alone, one of many that would make neural networks the darlings of AI technology over the next few years.

From Quanta Magazine

As we’ve seen, a risky firm with a compelling story can also become a darling of individual investors.

From Quartz

Some of the darlings as of late, including AAPL and TSLA, were down almost 10 percent.

From Fortune

All of these developments, along with Musk’s cult-like following, have made Tesla a darling of retail investors, with it occupying almost a permanent place in online brokerage Robinhood’s list of most popular stocks.

From Fortune

The former Czech leader, once a global darling of libertarians, is losing friends fast.

From The Daily Beast

Kerry Washington - Scandal Is there room for only one Shonda Rhimes darling in Best Actress in a Drama?

From The Daily Beast

Take Joni Ernst, a GOP darling now favored to be the next senator from Iowa.

From The Daily Beast

I'm going to use it to stop all arguments in the future, about anything: "Can't make dinner tonight, darling, children might die."

From The Daily Beast

But Darling makes it very clear that this is not just a show about a pop star, no matter how much buzz his name generates.

From The Daily Beast

Ill should I repay the family who fostered my son, were I to surrender their darling into the hands of his enemies.

From Project Gutenberg

A germ flies from a stagnant pool, and the laughing child, its mother's darling, dies dreadfully of diphtheria.

From Project Gutenberg

Said to be aristocratically connected, he was the admiration of all and the darling of the young ladies of Derby.

From Project Gutenberg

“You would kill the darling in five minutes,” interrupted Miss Anne.

From Project Gutenberg

If such a darling thing should happen as my winning the prize, Id put it all in the bank for a nest-egg, she thought.

From Project Gutenberg