Caress
What it means
To touch gently in a way that expresses affection or tenderness.
Reach for it when describing a welcome, gentle touch in an intimate or caring context
He bent to caress the dog's ears before leaving for work.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm | |
| literary |
-
playful
pet
Fits when affectionate touching of an animal is meant
Careful Pet is patronizing for an adult and wrong for many human relationships.
-
everyday
stroke
Fits when a hand moves gently across a surface or body
Careful Stroke can be practical grooming and need not express affection.
-
everyday
touch
Fits when neutral physical contact is all the sentence needs
Careful Touch loses the gentleness and affection that define caress.
-
warm
cradle
Fits when supportive holding conveys protection
Careful Cradle describes how something is held, not the gentle movement of a caress.
-
warm
fondle
Fits when repeated affectionate touching is explicitly intimate
Careful Fondle often carries sexual or inappropriate overtones and can make innocent care sound disturbing.
-
literary
brush
Fits when contact is light, brief, and glancing
Careful A brush can be accidental and is too fleeting for sustained tenderness.
Opposites 4
- strike
- shove
- recoil
- slap
Common phrases 4
-
gently caress
She reached down to gently caress the horse's neck.
-
caress a cheek
He paused to caress a cheek still cold from the wind.
-
caress with
The nurse would caress with one finger the infant's tiny palm.
-
caress gently
He would caress gently the dog's scarred shoulder.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated