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Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Absence makes the heart grow fonderPersons, places, or things become dearer to us when they are absent.
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absence makes the heart grow fonder
absence makes the heart grow fonderSeparation intensifies love, as in After a year in another country she accepted his proposal, so I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder, or, used ironically, The boss leaves earlier every day; oh well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Although versions of this saying date from Roman times, it only became popular after Thomas Haynes Bayly used it as the last line of a song in The Isle of Beauty (1850). The opposite sentiment is expressed by familiarity breeds contempt.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
CulturalExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Of course, absence makes the heart grow fonder: her lead single “Yes, And?” brought her into new sonic territory — house-informed pop music — and immediately shot up to No. 1.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2024
But, hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2024
Lexi, who hasn’t seen Mikey in a while, challenges the idea that absence makes the heart grow fonder, ordering him off the property.
From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2021
“It’s really cool to be back. What do they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder? Quite cheesy, but no, really, really cool,” said the 40-year-old Englishman, who is now ranked 14th in the world.
From Washington Times • Jan. 17, 2018
In her case the old adage "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was undoubtedly true.
From The Leader of the Lower School A Tale of School Life by Campbell, John
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.