caressing
/kə'resiɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- Affectionate touch or gesture: The act of showing love or tenderness through gentle touching or stroking.
- Affectionate play: Loving physical interaction, often without sexual contact, such as hugging, stroking, or cuddling.
Adjective (Present Participle):
- Touching lovingly: Describing the action of touching someone gently and with affection.
Usage
- As a noun, "caressing" refers to the act or instance of gentle, loving touch.
- As an adjective (the present participle form of the verb "caress"), it describes something that performs or involves such touch.
Examples
- Noun:
- The mother's gentle caressing soothed the crying baby.
- Their conversation was accompanied by soft caressings of each other's hands.
- Adjective (Present Participle):
- She spoke in a caressing voice, full of warmth.
- He felt her caressing fingers through his hair.
Advanced Usage
- "The caressing of...": Used to specify the object of the affectionate touch.
- The caressing of the velvet fabric was very pleasant.
- Describing non-physical, metaphorical tenderness:
- The caressing warmth of the morning sun. (Here, "caressing" is an adjective describing the gentle, comforting quality of the sunlight.)
Variants and Related Words
- Caress (verb/noun): The base form. As a verb: to touch or stroke lovingly. As a noun: a gentle or loving touch.
- Verb: She will caress the kitten. Noun: He gave her cheek a tender caress.
- Caressingly (adverb): In a caressing manner.
- He spoke caressingly to calm her fears.
Synonyms
- Stroking: Moving one's hand gently over a surface.
- Fondling: Handling or touching lovingly, though sometimes with a more intimate connotation.
- Petting: Affectionate touching, often used for animals.
- Cuddling: Holding close in one's arms as a sign of affection.
Antonyms
- Striking: Hitting with force.
- Pushing: Applying force to move something away.
- Repelling: Driving or forcing back.
Related Phrases
- A caressing touch: A touch that is gentle and loving.
- The child responded to a caressing touch.
- A caressing tone/voice: A soft, soothing, and affectionate way of speaking.
- Use a caressing tone when talking to frightened animals.
Noun
- affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)