fond
1 Americanadjective
-
fonder,
comparative
-
fondest
superlative
-
having a liking or affection for (usually followed byof ).
to be fond of animals.
-
loving; affectionate.
to give someone a fond look.
-
excessively tender or overindulgent; doting.
a fond parent.
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cherished with strong or unreasoning feeling.
to nourish fond hopes of becoming president.
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Archaic. foolish or silly.
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Archaic. foolishly credulous or trusting.
- Synonyms:
- gullible
adjective
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predisposed (to); having a liking (for)
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loving; tender
a fond embrace
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indulgent; doting
a fond mother
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(of hopes, wishes, etc) cherished but unlikely to be realized
he had fond hopes of starting his own business
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archaic
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foolish
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credulous
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noun
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the background of a design, as in lace
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obsolete fund; stock
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of fond1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fond, fonned “foolish, silly” (past participle of fonnen “to be foolish”
Origin of fond2
First recorded in 1655–65; from French; see origin at fund
Explanation
To be fond of something is to like it. Sports fans are fond of sports. Oddly, this adjective can also mean foolish and silly. We're all fond of some things and people: the things and people we like. Being fond can mean anything from liking something a little ("I'm fond of that band") to be extremely, almost absurdly interested in something ("He's a little too fond of football"). This word sometimes implies foolishness and absurdity: almost like you love something so much that you've lost your mind. But usually being fond is a good thing: it just means you enjoy something.
Vocabulary lists containing fond
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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We Were Liars
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Many customers came over to the table to pick up a shirt and share the many fond memories of the eatery with Wong-Young.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Advisers are also fond of what they call “tilting,” favoring growth or value based on their view of which style seems more attractive at the moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Winning back fans in San Diego continues to be a goal of the Chargers franchise, but coach Jim Harbaugh will always have fond memories of the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
But wait, as our hard-boiled citizen investigator is fond of saying.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
He was fond of Cuba, not, I thought, for its political system or ideology, but mainly because of its remarkable health statistics.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
The walk to Fécamp would be purely delightful if it were not for the fonds.
From The Galaxy Vol. 23, No. 1 by Various
The fonds, in a word, are very tiresome.
From The Galaxy Vol. 23, No. 1 by Various
Nat., fonds latin, No. 4270, fol. 125-8, 139.
From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles
Cook two ox palates as in the last recipe, then take equal quantities of veal steak, sweetbread, calf's brains, equal quantities of mushrooms, fonds d'artichauds, and cocks' combs.
From The Cook's Decameron: a study in taste, containing over two hundred recipes for Italian dishes by Waters, W. G., Mrs.
I really believe," Mrs. Westgate continued, "that the most charming girl in the world is a Boston superstructure upon a New York fonds; or perhaps a New York superstructure upon a Boston fonds.
From An International Episode by James, Henry
Those fonder of Hawthorne the magical realist will have plenty to appreciate as well, not least of which that Donatello’s true ancestry—whether human or faun—is never definitively established.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Growing fonder and fonder of Maude, Harold shares with her that when he isn’t attending funerals for fun, he likes to go to demolition sites and scrap yards.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2026
You can sit this one out, and see if absence makes the sisters grow fonder of each other.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 27, 2025
Colin Duncan was a teenager when he used it to nip into the city centre from the south side, and he has fonder memories.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2024
His voice softens when he talks about her—he is no longer the toughened leader of this compound, but an old man, reflecting on some fonder past.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
"My fondest memories are of him travelling on the buses wherever he went."
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
In your fondest dreams, what would you do if you could join the animals?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Sir Billy has now released four limited edition works under his Born On A Rainy Day series, recalling some of the fondest memories from his life.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
It’s one of the earliest, fondest memories I have.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2025
Indeed, today, those evenings rank amongst my fondest memories from those times.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
