amour

/ə'muə/

Thân thiện

A couple shares a quiet amour in a secluded garden.

Definition

Noun: 1. A secretive or illicit romantic or sexual relationship: Typically refers to a love affair, especially one that is hidden or considered improper due to existing commitments or social norms. It often implies passion and intrigue.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The novel's plot revolves around a tragic amour between a queen and her knight.
  • Rumors of his amour with a famous actress spread quickly through the gossip columns.
  • She wrote letters detailing her secret amour.

Advanced Usage

• "A grand amour": Refers to a particularly passionate, dramatic, or significant love affair.
  • His time in Paris was marked by a grand amour that inspired his poetry.
• Used in a literary or somewhat formal context to describe a liaison, often with a connotation of forbidden or intense romance.

Variants and Related Words

• Amorous (adj): Showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desire or romantic love.
  • He gave her an amorous glance.
• Amour-propre (n): Self-esteem; self-respect. (Note: This is a distinct compound borrowed from French).
  • The criticism wounded his amour-propre.

Synonyms

• Affair: A romantic or sexual relationship, often secret.
• Liaison: An intimate and often secretive romantic or sexual relationship.
• Romance: A love affair.

Idioms and Phrases

• "Amour fou": (From French) Literally "mad love"; refers to an obsessive, irrational, or all-consuming passion.
  • Their relationship was an amour fou that blinded them to all consequences.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

Từ đồng nghĩa

• affair
• affaire
• intimacy
• liaison
• involvement