Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To handle, stroke, or touch lovingly. synonym: caress.
  • intransitive verb Obsolete To treat with indulgence and solicitude; pamper.
  • intransitive verb To show fondness or affection by stroking or touching.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To treat with tender caresses; bestow tokens of love upon; caress: as, to fondle a child.
  • To show fondness, as by manners, words, or caresses.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To treat or handle with tenderness or in a loving manner; to caress.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To touch or stroke lovingly.
  • verb To grasp.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Frequentative of fond, to show fondness for (obsolete).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Frequentative of fond.

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Examples

  • He began this episode by saying that no less than 34 books, including the Tafsir of al-Qurtubi and Sahih Muslim, record that Muhammad used to "fondle" - Botros scowled at the screen - "kiss and have sex while fasting, though he forbade others from doing so."

    Jihad Watch 2009

  • Freud's obsession with archaeology -- he liked to "fondle" antique objects while he ate -- has interested psychoanalysts more than archaeologists.

    Books: Seductions of the Soil 2005

  • And remember ... when you are looking at the packs, do NOT forget to "fondle" them!

    Magical Disney Forums 2010

  • He slipped his cock from its denim confinement and began to fondle himself as he watched the show.

    I.O.U. Elle 2011

  • Ro felt her vagina begin to mist and seize as she watched the two women fondle, kiss and rub up on each other.

    I.O.U. Elle 2011

  • And he has clearly been attending the Michael Heseltine Clinic for Sexual Fulfilment, where politicians are taught to stroke and fondle their party so as to inflame uncontrollable passions.

    Simon Hoggart's sketch: Man with big vision fondles the faithful Simon Hoggart 2010

  • Please do not fondle the other commenters. chrismealy says:

    Matthew Yglesias » Endgame 2010

  • Workers then parade the boars in front of sows and ogle and fondle sows 'genitals to see which pigs are "ready" to have a tube of pig semen shoved into them.

    Bruce Friedrich: Does Eating Meat Support Bestiality? Bruce Friedrich 2010

  • I watched him open his arms, I watched him flirt, and I watched him fondle--all the while with a huge grin on his face and a cigar in his mouth.

    David Wygant: The Cheatanator Arnold Schwarzenegger; What Next? David Wygant 2011

  • I watched him open his arms, I watched him flirt, and I watched him fondle--all the while with a huge grin on his face and a cigar in his mouth.

    David Wygant: The Cheatanator Arnold Schwarzenegger; What Next? David Wygant 2011

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