caress
an act or gesture expressing affection, as an embrace or kiss, especially a light stroking or touching.
a light and gentle touch or stroke, or something that passes lightly over a person or thing: Let the gentle caresses of the music carry your worries away.
to touch, pat, or stroke gently to show affection.
to touch or seem to touch lightly: The breeze caressed the trees.
to treat with favor, kindness, etc.
Origin of caress
1Other words for caress
1 | pat, fondling, hug |
Other words from caress
- ca·ress·a·ble, adjective
- ca·ress·er, noun
- un·ca·ressed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use caress in a sentence
Had one reached out and caressed the other, would that have been an assault?
Why These Marines Love ‘Frozen’—and Why It Matters | Aaron B. O’Connell | June 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe climbed down from the chair and squatting on the floor, took the creature into his arms and caressed her.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI was still shaking with sobs when a blonde nurse, whom I shall never forget, sat down beside me and gently caressed my face.
Inside Gaddafi’s Harem: The Story of a Girl’s Abduction | Annick Cojean | August 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThere was a way that it caressed her body and the pleats hung just so, brushing the tops of her feet like a soft whisper.
“If you wanted to make it with somebody, you reached over and caressed their leg,” said Levenson.
He whistled bravely as he crossed the threshold and caressed his wife with his usual tenderness.
It held and caressed her body, almost as if it were an affectionate living thing that knew of her present desire.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensThe Cat, the little Tyger of our island, whose natural home is the forest, is equally domesticated and caressed.
An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae | Edward JennerHe was pleasantly tired in mind and body, and the warm homelike room caressed his senses.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThe slanting light lovingly caressed the brow, cheeks, lips, and throat.
Urania | Camille Flammarion
British Dictionary definitions for caress
/ (kəˈrɛs) /
a gentle touch or embrace, esp one given to show affection
(tr) to touch or stroke gently with affection or as with affection: the wind caressed her face
Origin of caress
1Derived forms of caress
- caresser, noun
- caressingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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