caress 
ca·ress (kə res′)
transitive verb
- to touch or stroke lovingly or gently; also, to embrace or kiss: often used figuratively, as of a voice or music
- to treat kindly or affectionately
Etymology: Fr caresser < It carezzare; ult. < L carus, dear: see charity
noun
Related Forms:
- caresser ca·ress′er noun
- caressingly ca·ress′·ingly adverb
- caressive ca·res′·sive adjective
- caressively ca·res′·sively adverb
caress
v.
caress refers to a display of affection by gentle stroking or touching; fondle implies a more demonstrative show of love or affection, as by stroking or hugging, or may connote touching or stroking in making sexual advances; pet, as applied generally, implies treatment with special affection and indulgence, including gentle patting and stroking, but informally it refers to indulgence, esp. by young couples, in hugging, kissing, and amorous caresses; cuddle implies affectionate handling, as of a small child by its mother, by pressing or drawing close within the arms; dandle implies the showing of playful affection toward a child by moving him or her up and down lightly on the knee
Object
- ball: Siddall, after a few errors, found her rhythm and began to caress the ball into each and every corner of the court.
- skin: Naked bodies entwined, hands caressing skin, lips gently nibbled.
- ear: Then different sounds were amalgamated, care being taken, however, to caress the ear with gentle harmonies.
- child: If I caress a sweet child, I find myself already thinking: Farewell!
- breeze: Felt are like a caressing soft breeze on a summers day.
- grass: With the merest kiss we caress the grass of the runway, and coast halfway along the strip.
Subject
- breeze: Caressed by sea breezes, it offers post card views of sandy white beaches fringed with swaying palms.
Adjective modifier
- gentle: The gentle caress, Of the waves, On the shore, And you close, Beside me, Could I ask for more?
- soft: Pulling me back, pulling me home, the memories of the soft caress of a sun kissed breeze stroking my face.
- sweet: Trapped in his Dungeon of Love, prisoners are swamped by sickly sweet caresses.
Modifying Another Word
- gently: That was the only answer for what he could feel - a woman's hand gently caressing his brow.
- lovingly: She reminisced as her hands lovingly caressed the bottle, and then she snatched the lid off and sprayed the scent into the air.
- again: Once or twice I got the sensations of being caressed repeatedly again.
- just: Its tips had just caressed a hanging cluster of small bells.
- softly: These big animals don't like it if you just softly caress them.
- lightly: We lay there naked and, with one arm, I lightly caressed her body.
Noun used with modifier
- tender: LEWIS KLAHR SOFT TICKET USA, 2004, 7 mins, 16mm The tender caress of indelible physiognomies.
Preposition: of
- wave: The only sounds you'll hear are your own peaceful thoughts and the gentle caressing of waves against the shore.
- hand: The caressing of hands soothes the sleeper with a three-legged ( galliard ) march of time toward peaceful and eternal sleep.
Preposition: by
- breeze: Caressed by sea breezes, it offers post card views of sandy white beaches fringed with swaying palms.
Poetry is an extra hand. It can caress or tickle. It can clench and fight.
The only man I knew who could make a curse sound like a caress.
Browse dictionary entries near caress
- ‹ carelessness
- ‹ carelessly
- ‹ careless
- ‹ caregiver
- ‹ carefulness
- ‹ carefully
- ‹ careful
- ‹ carefree
- ‹ careerist
- ‹ careerism
- caresser ›
- caressingly ›
- caressive ›
- caressively ›
- caret ›
- caretaker ›
- Carew ›
- careworn ›
- carfare ›
- carful ›
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