Search the Dictionary

Foolish; silly; simple; weak. [Archaic] Grant I may never prove so fond To trust man on his oath or bond. Shak.

eat made by boiling solutions to the point of crystallization, usually molded; as, cherry fondant.

To endeavor; to strive; to try. [Obs.] Chaucer.

To treat or handle with tenderness or in a loving manner; to caress; as, a nurse fondles a child.

One who fondles. Johnson.

The act of caressing; manifestation of tenderness. Cyrus made no . . . amorous fondling To fan her pride, or melt her guardless heart. Mickle.

Foolishly. [Archaic] Verstegan (1673). Make him speak fondly like a frantic man. Shak.

The quality or state of being fond; foolishness. [Obs.] Fondness it were for any, being free, To covet fetters, though they golden be. Spenser.

A large copper vessel used for hot amalgamation.

Blended; passing into each other by subtle gradations; -- said of colors or of the surface or material on which the colors are laid.

A dish made of cheese, eggs, butter, etc., melted together.

A style of printing calico, paper hangings, etc., in which the colors are in bands and graduated into each other. Ure.

At bottom; fundamentally; essentially.

, Milton. -- O"ver*fond"ly, adv. -- O"ver*fond"ness, n.

To show a fondness for; to like to use or practice; to choose; hence, to frequent habitually. For he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for Shak. Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great. Hazlitt.

Fondness; affection. [Obs.] Hooker.

Having affection or warm regard; loving; fond; as, an affectionate brother.

With affection; lovingly; fondly; tenderly; kindly.

The quality of being affectionate; fondness; affection.

Inclined to love; having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment; loving; fond; affectionate; as, an amorous disposition.