loving
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of loving
First recorded before 1000; Middle English lovyng; replacing Middle English lovende, Old English lufiende; see love, -ing 2
Explanation
Someone loving is affectionate and caring. Your loving grandmother might be your favorite grandparent because she clearly adores you. You can be a loving sister or a loving babysitter, and you can also describe kind things you do as loving, like the loving hug you give your sad friend or your uncle's loving gesture of sending your aunt flowers on her birthday. The adjective loving comes from the Old English lufian, "to love or approve," from the root lufu, "love, affection, or friendliness."
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.
Rarely can one film feel so observant of how our memories of a person and a time can change in the space between loving them and losing them.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
“It’s all right being loving and caring, but you’ve got to care for your own,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
"Half my mates, they're like: 'I can't lie, I've still got to catch up on the past few episodes, but I'm loving it so far'."
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Don’t just write, “Bob was a loving dad.”
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
