loving

[ luhv-ing ]

adjective

1. feeling or showing love; warmly affectionate; fond:

   loving glances.

loving

/ ˈlʌvɪŋ /

adjective

1. feeling, showing, or indicating love and affection

Derived Forms

• ˈlovingness, noun
• ˈlovingly, adverb

Other Words From

• loving·ly adverb
• loving·ness noun
• non·loving adjective
• un·loving adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of loving¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English lovyng; replacing Middle English lovende, Old English lufiende; love, -ing ²

Idioms and Phrases

see tender loving care .

Example Sentences

We ended up calling him Gover, but I still woke up every morning with a loving Hangover.

From Washington Post

Sweet Pea, Zeek’s little sister, has sickle cell disease, but also a “melting hearts” superpower that allows her to manipulate minds to make any adult or child more loving, understanding and humble.

From Ozy

Justice Ginsburg gave me the most loving and tight hug ever.

From Washington Blade

I think we are much more tolerant and loving of each other than we’ve been led to believe.

From Ozy

In the 2019 paper, Kaufman and his colleagues found that a new scale he developed to measure the Light Triad was valid, reliably capturing “a loving and beneficent orientation toward others.”

From Nautilus

Few of us are as clever as my Inspector Morse-loving friend.

From The Daily Beast

And finally, they meet Un (Randall Park), who appears to be nothing but genial and fun-loving—especially to Dave.

From The Daily Beast

For whatever reason, I grew up watching and loving horror movies—perhaps as a reaction to the environment I was growing up in.

From The Daily Beast

On the opposite end of the spectrum are two other standout works, which depict Mary as a loving, nurturing mother.

From The Daily Beast

Amelia must do this every day in loving Samuel—who often appears as a reminder of the irreparable past and death of Oskar.

From The Daily Beast

The world may end, the heavens fall, yet loving voices would still find an echo in the ruins of the universe.

From Project Gutenberg

Her glance wandered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty.

From Project Gutenberg

But with no Devil the belief in a merciful and loving Heavenly Father becomes impossible.

From Project Gutenberg

It was as if the earlier, loving Lettice tried to assert itself, but was instantly driven back again.

From Project Gutenberg

But this theory of a merciful, and loving Heavenly Father is vital to the Christian religion.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• admiring
• affectionate
• amiable
• attentive
• benevolent
• caring
• considerate
• cordial
• dear
• devoted
• doting
• earnest
• faithful
• friendly
• generous
• loyal
• passionate
• romantic
• thoughtful
• warm