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Synonyms

darling

1 American  
[dahr-ling] / ˈdɑr lɪŋ /

noun

  1. a person very dear to another; one dearly loved.

  2. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address.

  3. a person or thing in great favor; a favorite.

    She was the darling of caf é society.

adjective

  1. very dear; dearly loved.

    my darling child.

  2. favorite; cherished.

  3. Informal. charming; cute; lovable.

    What a darling baby!
Darling 2 American  
[dahr-ling] / ˈdɑr lɪŋ /

noun

  1. Jay Norwood Ding, 1876–1962, U.S. political cartoonist.

darling 1 British  
/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

  1. a person very much loved: often used as a term of address

  2. a favourite

    the teacher's darling
"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

adjective

  1. beloved

  2. much admired; pleasing

    a darling hat
"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
Darling 2 British  
/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

  1. Grace. 1815–42, English national heroine, famous for her rescue (1838) of some shipwrecked sailors with her father, a lighthouse keeper

"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

Other Word Forms

  • darlingly adverb
  • darlingness noun

Etymology

Origin of darling

before 900; Middle English derling, Old English dēorling. See dear 1, -ling 1

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.

The move was enough to push Exxon’s forward stock-price-to-earnings ratio to recently top that of market darling Nvidia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Southern California defense tech darling Anduril Industries has struck a deal to buy Orange County space surveillance firm ExoAnalytic Solutions.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

Shanghai’s benchmark composite rose 0.9% as trading resumed following the Lunar New Year break, while Korea’s Kospi index pushed 2.1% as AI memory darling SK Hynix rose 5.7%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Gu arrived at the Games targeting a clean sweep of golds in her three events after winning two golds and a silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she was the host nation's darling.

From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026

“Two, I do not possess dominion over you. To you, my darling Senders, I provide advice purely on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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.