- present participle of dote.
doting
Americanadjective
-
excessively fond.
doting parents.
-
showing a decline of mental faculties, especially associated with old age; weak-minded; senile.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of doting
Explanation
Someone who's doting is loving and fond, and tends to spoil you terribly. Your doting grandmother, for example, might shower you with gifts even when it's not your birthday. If someone you know adores you beyond all reason, only seeing your good points and completely disregarding your faults, they're doting. Your doting uncle might offer to fly you to Disney World for spring break, and your doting older sister might wake up early to make your favorite breakfast when you visit her. The earliest meaning of dote was "be feeble-minded from old age," and by the 15th century it came to mean "be loving or infatuated."
Vocabulary lists containing doting
Matilda
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The Odyssey
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Grown
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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.
"So am I," Kim replied, doting on the doll.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
He didn’t even mention Artemis in his most recent State of the Union speech, instead doting on the U.S.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
Fans won’t ever know exactly why the doting parents lapsed in their watch of the eggs a month ago, though the nonprofit believes they had their reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
We’re a long way from Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post portraits of doting parents taking their rosy-cheeked children to the avuncular family doctor for back-to-school checkups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
He was doting and invested, my husband, doing what he could do.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
