Absence makes the heart grow fonder

1. Persons, places, or things become dearer to us when they are absent.

Idioms and Phrases

Separation 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.

Example Sentences

Sutter also defended Ryan’s posts, one of which included a black-and-white Mother’s Day message: “They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

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The cliche that absence makes the heart grow fonder is apt here, in more ways than one.

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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.

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But, hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

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It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

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