Amorous Meaning
/ˈæ.mə.ɹəs/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjInclined or having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment.
adjIndicating love or sexual desire.
Sentence Examples
Men love amorous women.
Can we postpone tomorrow's amorous encounter?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young couple shared an ____ glance across the candlelit dinner table.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The poet wrote several ____ verses dedicated to his secret love.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English amorous, amerous (14th century), from Old French amoros, amoreus, from Vulgar Latin *amōrōsus, from Latin amor (“love”), related to amāre (“to love”). Compare French amoureux (“in love”). Doublet of amoroso and amoureux.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:
"UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms
UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew.
And when you looke for amorous diſcourſe,
Will rattle foorth his facts of war and blood: […]"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene ii:
"Long were to tell the amorous aſſayes,
And gentle pangues, with which he maked meeke
The mightie Mars, to learne his wanton playes:"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 572:
"There was no tune to it, only amorous gruntings like those of some old satyr who had furnished music for Circe's revels."
— 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 218:
"When held in the hand, the lizard produces an amorous stimulus."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 139:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young couple shared an ____ glance across the candlelit dinner table.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The poet wrote several ____ verses dedicated to his secret love.