Showing results for "fondling"

• present participle of fondle.

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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fondling

“Boys in the alleyway, fondling marbles in their chilblained fingers or plotting Hurley Burley: these would remain foreign to him,” writes Li.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

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

This has been going on forever – certainly since Ovid wrote of Pygmalion kissing and fondling his statue until the gods took pity.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 29, 2017

In 1889 he depicted himself as a doleful, abandoned Jesus in Gethsemane; then as gimlet-eyed Satan fondling a snake; and finally, in a ceramic sculpture, as a bleeding severed head.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2011

As the stone door closed behind him, Taran saw King Eiddileg fondling his head and beaming happily.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

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