Verb She caressed the baby's cheek. A warm breeze caressed her face. Noun She gave the baby's cheek a gentle caress.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Candles atop broad tables bathe the room in soft light, and gold chairs practically caress their occupants. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022 Her pieces, like her glove bralettes, literally caress you. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2022 For me, the camera must tell the story for the characters; love them, caress them without the viewer perceiving other stylistic details. Emilio Mayorga, Variety, 15 Feb. 2022 Two fingers caress the unruly neck hair of the skinned goat whose elongated snout sports a bemused expression. William A. Wallace, WSJ, 28 Jan. 2022 During his final moments, Maya’s father reaches to caress her face, leaving a bloody handprint on her cheek before dying in her presence.Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021 In the video, Mans and a lover dance with and caress one another tenderly in a Brooklyn brownstone. Keyaira Boone, Essence, 17 Sep. 2021 Jonathan Ledbetter uses both of his hands to slowly caress the double-AA-battery-sized scars that bookend his right knee. Omar Kelly, sun-sentinel.com, 18 July 2021 The bubbles caress your palate in a soft embrace, like an old friend’s greeting after a long separation.Washington Post, 16 July 2021
Noun
Part of why this is so striking is that Drake has made a career out of caress.New York Times, 19 June 2022 About 30 minutes into her JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston on Monday night, a mother taking care of her baby felt someone caress her upper thigh. Julian Mark, Washington Post, 2 June 2022 It’s about hands and fingers – the intimacy and caress of touch. Felicity Carter, Forbes, 1 June 2022 Sometimes a text or video call is not enough, and people in Salvato’s situation often long for a way to send a loving caress or comforting squeeze from afar. Richard Sima, Scientific American, 26 Apr. 2022 Gender was a major preoccupation this season, as was connection, be that through social interaction or the caress of fabric on skin. Laird Borrelli-persson, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2022 But these were some of the area’s best choral professionals, and Dettra coaxed richly expressive singing that could raise the roof but also caress and comfort the ear. Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 4 Oct. 2021 The soothing elixir of rose water and rose absolute caress skin to calm redness while coconut blossom nectar rejuvenates.Essence, 20 Sep. 2021 In it, two trans women alternately caress and shove each other, cooing sweet nothings one moment and cursing the next.New York Times, 2 Sep. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
French caresser, from Italian carezzare, from carezza — see caressentry 2
Noun
French caresse, from Italian carezza, from caro dear, from Latin carus — more at charity