adjective + love : true, unconditional, undying, unrequited; passionate, romantic
lo ve af|fair (love affairs )
1 N‑COUNT A love affair is a romantic and usually sexual relationship between two people who love each other but who are not married or living together. □ [+ with ] …a stressful love affair with a married man. [Also + between ]
2 N‑SING If you refer to someone's love affair with something, you mean that they like it a lot and are very enthusiastic about it. □ [+ with ] …the American love affair with firearms.
love|birds /lʌ vbɜː r dz/ N‑PLURAL You can refer to two people as lovebirds when they are obviously very much in love. [HUMOROUS ]
lo ve bite (love bites ) also lovebite N‑COUNT A love bite is a mark which someone has on their body as a result of being bitten by their partner when they were kissing or making love.
lo ve child (love children ) also love-child N‑COUNT If journalists refer to someone as a love child , they mean that the person was born as a result of a love affair between two people who have never been married to each other. □ Eric has a secret love child.
-loved /-lʌvd/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -loved combines with adverbs to form adjectives that describe how much someone or something is loved. □ The similarities between the much-loved father and his son are remarkable. □ …two of Mendelssohn's best-loved works.
lo ve-ha te re|la|tion|ship (love-hate relationships ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you have a love-hate relationship with someone or something, your feelings towards them change suddenly and often from love to hate. □ …a book about the close love-hate relationship between two boys.
love|less /lʌ vləs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A loveless relationship or situation is one where there is no love. □ She is in a loveless relationship.
lo ve let|ter (love letters ) N‑COUNT A love letter is a letter that you write to someone in order to tell them that you love them.
lo ve life (love lives ) N‑COUNT Someone's love life is the part of their life that consists of their romantic and sexual relationships. □ His love life was complicated, and involved intense relationships.
love|lorn /lʌ vlɔː r n/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Lovelorn means the same as lovesick . □ He was acting like a lovelorn teenager.
love|ly ◆◇◇ /lʌ vli/ (lovelier , loveliest )
1 ADJ If you describe someone or something as lovely , you mean that they are very beautiful and therefore pleasing to look at or listen to. [mainly BRIT ] □ You look lovely, Marcia. □ He had a lovely voice. □ It was just one of those lovely old English gardens. ● love|li|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ You are a vision of loveliness.
2 ADJ If you describe something as lovely , you mean that it gives you pleasure. [mainly BRIT , mainly SPOKEN ] □ Mary! How lovely to see you! □ It's a lovely day. □ What a lovely surprise!
3 ADJ If you describe someone as lovely , you mean that they are friendly, kind, or generous. [mainly BRIT ] □ Laura is a lovely young woman. □ She's a lovely child. SYNONYMS lovely ADJ 1
beautifuclass="underline" New England is beautiful.
appealing: There was a sense of humour to what he did that I found very appealing.
attractive: The creamy white flowers are attractive in the spring.
charming: …a charming little fishing village.
adorable: We have three adorable children.
love|making /lʌ vme I k I ŋ/ also love-making N‑UNCOUNT Lovemaking refers to sexual activities that take place between two people who love each other. □ Their love-making became less and less frequent.
lo ve nest (love nests ) also love-nest N‑COUNT [usu sing] A love nest is a house or flat where two people who are having a love affair live or meet. [JOURNALISM ]
lov|er ◆◇◇ /lʌ və r / (lovers )
1 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] Someone's lover is someone who they are having a sexual relationship with but are not married to. □ He and Liz became lovers soon after they first met.
2 N‑COUNT If you are a lover of something such as animals or the arts, you enjoy them very much and take great pleasure in them. □ [+ of ] She is a great lover of horses and horse racing. □ Are you an opera lover?
lo ve rat (love rats ) N‑COUNT Journalists sometimes use love rat to refer to a man who treats his partner in a cruel way, especially by having sexual relationships with other people. [JOURNALISM , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the womanising of royal love rat James Hewitt.
love|sick /lʌ vs I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as lovesick , you mean that they are so in love with someone who does not love them, that they are behaving in a strange and foolish way. □ …a lovesick boy consumed with self-pity.
lo ve sto|ry (love stories ) N‑COUNT A love story is something such as a novel or film about a love affair.
lo ve-stricken also lovestruck ADJ If you describe someone as love-stricken , you mean that they are so much in love that they are behaving in a strange and foolish way.
lo ve tri|an|gle (love triangles ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] A love triangle is a relationship in which three people are each in love with at least one other person in the relationship. [JOURNALISM ]
lovey-dovey /lʌ vi dʌ vi/ ADJ You can use lovey-dovey to describe, in a humorous or slightly disapproving way, lovers who show their affection for each other very openly. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ All my friends were either lovey-dovey couples or wild, single girls.