loved one

American  

noun

1. a close or cherished relation.

   to mourn the loss of our loved ones.

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Etymology

Origin of loved one

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

In these kinds of cases, family members are often left asking an unthinkable question: Would their loved one still be alive if they’d received the necessary care?

From Salon • May 15, 2026

"If an individual griever wishes to use digital remains to remember their loved one, that is their grief, and we should not question or criticise other people's needs and preferences in mourning," she added.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

Clark noted that her agency’s website offers a number of guidelines, whether your loved one will be at a hospice facility or receive care at home, as the vast majority of hospice patients do.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

Grieving often prompts frantic spelunking missions—rereading old letters or texts, scouring your camera roll and random social media accounts for any scrap of a memory of your loved one.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

“The curse was this: the keeper of the stone would live forever, but so long as he kept it, misfortunes would fall on all those he loved one after another in unending rain.”

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• lover
• passion