fondling

American  

[fond-ling, fon-dl-ing] / ˈfɒnd lɪŋ, ˈfɒn dl ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of caressing or touching lovingly or tenderly.

   A few of us knitting enthusiasts met yesterday at Yarn Barn for a couple of hours of browsing, yarn fondling, and coffee.

2. the act of molesting someone sexually by touching or caressing.

   The inappropriate groping and fondling from a trusted adult male figure—her mother’s boyfriend—traumatized her.

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adjective

1. touching or caressing in either of these ways.

   She stroked him with gentle, fondling fingers.

Other Word Forms

• fondlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of fondling

First recorded in 1580–90; fondl(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; fondl(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense

Example Sentences

“It was for one of the Shakespeare histories and it was just close-ups of a man fondling his cuffs and touching his tie,” Kingsman said on a recent afternoon.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2023

The hypocrisy is rank enough; in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the comic-turned-moralizer yells, presumably at the Black parents he disapproves of, “Believe a child when she says somebody’s fondling her!”

From Washington Post • Jan. 30, 2022

Those who worried she couldn’t top 2017’s icy wonderland of lifeless foliage can breathe easily now that we’ve been graced with the image of Trump fondling ornaments with arms characteristically unmoored from her sleeves:

From Slate • Nov. 26, 2018

Ivory doesn't have much success in filling in the elisions, but Guadagnino's direction compounds the superficiality with camerawork that can't resist fondling every surface it encounters.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2018

Then I would bring out the rice, and measure it, and run the grain through my fingers for sheer love of it, fondling it like a simpleton.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Related Words

• extravagance
• kindness
• leniency
• permissiveness
• privilege