Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Full of or strongly disposed to romantic love.
  • adjective Indicative of love or sexual desire.
  • adjective Of or associated with love.
  • adjective Being in love; enamored.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Inclined to love; having a propensity to love; sexually attracted; loving; fond: as, an amorous disposition.
  • In love; enamored: usually with of, formerly sometimes with on.
  • Pertaining or relating to love; produced by or indicating love; conveying or breathing love.
  • Synonyms Loving, tender, passionate, ardent, amatory.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Inclined to love; having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment; loving; fond; affectionate.
  • adjective Affected with love; in love; enamored; -- usually with of; formerly with on.
  • adjective Of or relating to, or produced by, love.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Inclined to love; having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment; loving; fond; affectionate; as, an amorous disposition.
  • adjective Indicating love or sexual desire.
  • adjective Of or relating to, or produced by, love.
  • adjective dated Affected with love; in love; enamored.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective inclined toward or displaying love
  • adjective expressive of or exciting sexual love or romance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French amoureus, from Medieval Latin amōrōsus, from Latin amor, love, from amāre, to love.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

(14th century) From Old French amoros, amoreus, from Medieval Latin amōrōsus, from Latin amor ("love"), related to Latin amāre ("to love"). Compare French amoureux ("in love").

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Examples

  • I saw upon this superb and triumphal vehicle a white swan in amorous embrace with Theseus's daughter, an illustrious nymph of unbelievable beauty.

    Archive 2006-12-01 2006

  • I saw upon this superb and triumphal vehicle a white swan in amorous embrace with Theseus's daughter, an illustrious nymph of unbelievable beauty.

    More 2006

  • We'll be going down so deep the river's going to weep, and the mountain's going to shout Amen! It's coming like the tidal flood beneath the lunar sway, imperial, mysterious, in amorous array:

    cindy sheehan in her own words 2005

  • Now, the idea of a divorce so easy and wilful as Mr. Shaw proposes arises naturally out of an exclusive consideration of what I may call the amorous sentimentalities of marriage.

    An Englishman Looks at the World 1906

  • [FN#374] Although the Arab's ideal-of beauty, as has been seen and said, corresponds with ours the Egyptians (Modern) the Maroccans and other negrofied races like "walking tun-butts" as Clapperton called his amorous widow.

    Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855

  • The vengeful parent is consumed by a kind of amorous hatred of both the former spouse and the once shared, now torn, child.

    Divorce, American Style 2009

  • The vengeful parent is consumed by a kind of amorous hatred of both the former spouse and the once shared, now torn, child.

    Divorce, American Style 2009

  • The vengeful parent is consumed by a kind of amorous hatred of both the former spouse and the once shared, now torn, child.

    Divorce, American Style 2009

  • The vengeful parent is consumed by a kind of amorous hatred of both the former spouse and the once shared, now torn, child.

    Divorce, American Style 2009

  • Little Ed - though sadly, I believe was just a little too happy, and it translated into being "amorous" with the young beauties he spotted.

    Animal Cruelty Protests 2009

Comments

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  • Even as he obsessively asks himself why he is not loved, the amorous subject lives in the belief that the loved object does love him but does not tell him so.

    -- Roland Barthes

    October 22, 2007

  • US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906: Railroad telegraphers' notation meaning "What will you allow (for)?"

    January 19, 2013