Meaning & use
amor
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Meanings
noununcountableliterary
Love, especially romantic love, in a borrowed Spanish, Portuguese or Latin word used in songs, art and fixed phrases.
Grammar: Used mostly in titles, lyrics and borrowed phrases rather than ordinary sentences.
Patterns
- amor for someone
The singer repeated the word amor throughout the chorus.
The poem is titled Amor and is about first love.
A banner reading 'Amor' hung above the stage.
nounproperliterary
Love personified, a figure of the god of love in Roman myth, often shown as a winged boy.
Grammar: Capitalized when it names the god.
Amor is the Roman name for the god of love.
The statue of Amor stood in the garden.
Painters often show Amor with a bow and arrows.
Common combinations
- amor eterno
- The ballad promised amor eterno.
- amor propio
- His amor propio was wounded by the insult.
- amor fati
- The philosopher spoke of amor fati, a love of one's fate.
- mi amor
- She whispered mi amor in the song.
- amor vincit omnia
- The ring was engraved with amor vincit omnia.
Synonyms and how they differ
- love
- Love is the ordinary English word, while amor is a foreign borrowing used for color or tradition.
- affection
- Affection is warm fondness and gentler than the romantic sense of amor.
- passion
- Passion is intense feeling, narrower and stronger than amor.
- romance
- Romance names a love affair or feeling and is a normal English word, unlike amor.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: amor or amour? amor or armor?
amor vs amour
Amour is the French word for a love affair, while amor is Spanish, Portuguese and Latin for love.
amor vs armor
Armor is protective covering and sounds different, although the spelling is close.
Practice
The Spanish phrase 'mi amor' used in a song title most nearly means:
Choose one answer.
Amor means love, so mi amor means my love. The other options translate other Spanish words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “amor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.