caressing

American

[kuh-res-ing] / kəˈrɛs ɪŋ /

adjective

gently touching, patting, or stroking a person or thing to show affection.

She stroked my face—temple, cheek, chin, and then up the other side in a caressing, sweeping gesture.
touching or seeming to touch a person or thing lightly and in a way that calms or soothes.

Over and over again, I repeated the figures until they became a caressing swash of sound inside my head and hummed me finally to sleep.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of caressing

caress ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

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.

Jareth is an illusionist as beguiling and seductive as he is sinister, caressing bubbles and gravity-defiant glass spheres with liquid grace.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026

Her prose is exact and exquisite, as when describing Clare: “The soft white face, the bright hair, the disturbing scarlet mouth, the dreaming eyes, the caressing smile, the whole torturing loveliness.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

His opener - the competition's fastest goal so far - had the hallmarks of a player who had regained his confidence, taking a touch and caressing a fine finish into the far corner.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2025

With the cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, he shows them off beautifully, caressing them in light so that they look lit from within.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2024

“No thanks, patron” Transito replied, caressing her snake with a lacquered fingernail.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023