caress

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“
Feeling that the caress was an assurance that she was not in disgrace, as she had feared, she ran up-stairs, so light-hearted that she sang on the way As the door closed behind her, monsieur reached for his pipe, saying, as he did so, "She has a heart of gold, the little mademoiselle Yes," assented madame; "but she is a strange little body, so untamed and original.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun A gentle touch or gesture of fondness, tenderness, or love.
  2. transitive verb To touch or stroke in an affectionate or loving manner.
  3. transitive verb To touch or move as if with a caress: soft music that caressed the ears.
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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • She said it felt like a caress, as if guided by a tender hand. —  The Shadow World
  • Slight as the caress was, it disturbed her, and even in her sleep her subconscious mind sent out an exploring hand, to touch her Steve and thus be reassured. —  Spacehounds of IPC
  • I will stay here and be captured first There was a moment's hesitation, and then a flash of white arms, and the softest caress--ah, such a caress that the memory of it will go with me to the grave. —  The Tory Maid
  • She sat quiet under the caress, her head bent down in an attitude that revealed the white line from shoulder to throat, her eyes sheltered behind long lashes. —  Terry A Tale of the Hill People
  • Marjory returned the dog's caress, and walked slowly and thoughtfully towards the house CHAPTER III UNCLE AND NIECE If thou art worn and hard beset With troubles that thou wouldst forget Go to the woods and hills! —  Hunter's Marjory A Story for Girls
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Used in the same contextWord Family

caress:   caresses ·  caressed ·  caressing
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French caresse, from Italian carezza, from caro, dear, from Latin cārus; see kā- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from French caresse, from Italian carezza = Spanish caricia = Portuguese caricias (plural), endearment, fondness, from Middle Latin caritia, dearness, value, from Latin cārus, dear (whence also ult. English cheer, charity, cherish, q. v.), prob. orig. *camrus = Sanskrit kamra, beautiful, charming, from √ kam, love, desire, perhaps = Latin amare (for *camare?), love: see amor, etc. Cf. Welsh caru, love, = Irish caraim, I love, cara, a friend.
  2. from French caresser (= Italian carezzare; cf. Spanish a-cariciar = Portuguese cariciar, a-cariciar), from caresse, a caress.
 

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/kəˈrɛs/
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