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• Absence makes the heart grow fonder
  Absence makes the heart grow fonder

  Persons, places, or things become dearer to us when they are absent.
• absence makes the heart grow fonder
  absence makes the heart grow fonder

  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.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Cultural  

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

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absence makes the heart grow fonder Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Absence makes the heart grow fonder absence makes the heart grow fonder

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that.

From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2018

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," goes a classic one-liner, "of someone else."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," no doubt, for Minnie grew fonder of Ruby every time he went away, and every time he came back.

From The Lighthouse by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," remarked the secretary sententiously.

From Red Money by Hume, Fergus

On the contrary, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," said this judicious parent.

From A Simpleton by Reade, Charles

“I think there’s an argument that says absence makes the heart grow fonder with some of these. We’ll see.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

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

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

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

From A Damsel in Distress by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)