Meaning & use
loving
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Showing or feeling warm care and affection for other people.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a loving mother, she is very loving.
Patterns
- loving toward someone
- a loving family
He grew up in a loving family with four brothers and sisters.
She gave her daughter a loving smile before the exam.
Their dog is gentle and loving with the children.
adjectivebefore a noun
Done with great care and enjoyment, as if something is cherished.
Grammar: Comes before the noun, often in loving care or loving detail.
Patterns
- loving care
- loving detail
The cabin was rebuilt with loving care over three summers.
The author describes the old harbour in loving detail.
He gave the garden loving attention every morning.
noununcountableold-fashioned
The act of feeling or showing love; affection.
Grammar: Has no plural, often in older or poetic use: there was much loving in that house.
Patterns
- loving and caring
There was a great deal of loving in that crowded little house.
Her days were filled with loving and laughter.
He valued honest loving above riches.
Word forms
| comparative | more loving |
|---|---|
| superlative | most loving |
Common combinations
- loving family
- Every child deserves a loving family.
- loving care
- The old car was restored with loving care.
- kind and loving
- She was a kind and loving teacher.
- loving memory
- The plaque reads: in loving memory of our grandfather.
- loving relationship
- They have a loving relationship after thirty years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- affectionate
- Affectionate stresses visible signs of fondness such as hugs, while loving can describe deeper, steady care.
- devoted
- Devoted suggests strong loyalty and commitment, which is stronger than the general warmth in loving.
- caring
- Caring focuses on concern for someone's needs and wellbeing, not necessarily feelings of love.
- tender
- Tender suggests gentleness in touch or manner, and is more poetic than loving.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: loving or lovely?
loving vs lovely
Lovely means very pleasant or beautiful, while loving describes someone who feels or shows love.
Practice
The farmhouse was restored with ___ care by its new owners.
Choose one answer.
Loving care is the fixed collocation for work done with great affection. Lovely care is not natural, and loved would be a verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loving”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.