- 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.
In his statement, James O'Sullivan concluded: "Always kind-spirited, good humoured, a doting grandfather and a wonderful dad – I will miss him dearly."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The doting boyfriend, the overzealous best friend, the snide coworker, the absentee mother — played here by Kristen Johnston, whose character’s name is ingeniously spelled “Beverlee.”
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Nevertheless, Bonnie’s doting parents hope that Lilypad will help Bonnie make friends, oblivious to how the gizmo — and soon, their daughter — vibrates with anxiety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
However, he overlooks an obvious one: doting, coddling and enabling parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
A doting mother, she kept records of her baby’s every accomplishment, as well as her cryptic babblings.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
