fondle
/ˈfɒnd(ə)l
/verb [with object]
Stroke or caress lovingly or erotically: he kissed and fondled her...
- He chuckled and fondled his sword handle lovingly.
- He looked at them and fondled their strings lovingly.
- She fondled his hair lovingly and made her way to Jessica's room.
Synonyms
caress, stroke, pat, pet, pull, finger, touch, tickle, twiddle, play with, massage, knead;
maul, molest
informal paw, grope, feel up, touch up, cop a feel of
noun
An act of fondling.A penniless Essex University student is auctioning a fondle of her breasts on E-bay to get her through the year....
- One person's affectionate pat is another's lascivious fondle.
- Chocolate responds to the warmth of your mouth and each fondle of your tongue, softly, slinkily and slowly it melts.
Derivatives
fondler
- We've become the therapeutic nation of huggers and fondlers.
- My death-ray stare was useless because the theater was dark and I couldn't pinpoint the exact source of the candy fondler.
- Most of the contributors are already well known modern digital tone fondlers and most of them turn in above-average performances.
Origin
Late 17th century (in the sense 'pamper'): back-formation from obsolete fondling 'much-loved or petted person', from fond + -ling.