as in to pat
to touch or handle in a tender or loving manner
gently caressed her hair
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Recent Examples of caress
The basis of the important therapy stems from studies showing that holding and caressing an animal provides benefits such as relaxation, lower blood pressure, decreasing anxiety, and increasing positivity, according to the news release.
—
Dawn Giangiulio, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Williams knows how to humanize this bare-bones vocabulary, minutely adjusting the voicing of a chord or caressing the last of a set of recurring motifs with a regretful ritardando.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
The actor followed her around at several events related to the wedding, eventually caressing the back of her arm and pressing his knee against hers under the table.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Jan. 2026
The 39-year-old Nigerian-British actress hit the first official awards show of the season, donning a canary yellow gown and caressing her bump as the cameras flashed.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for caress
Dawn Giangiulio, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Williams knows how to humanize this bare-bones vocabulary, minutely adjusting the voicing of a chord or caressing the last of a set of recurring motifs with a regretful ritardando.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
The actor followed her around at several events related to the wedding, eventually caressing the back of her arm and pressing his knee against hers under the table.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Jan. 2026
The 39-year-old Nigerian-British actress hit the first official awards show of the season, donning a canary yellow gown and caressing her bump as the cameras flashed.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for caress
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caress
Verb
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Kids love the hands-on steps here — scooping soil, patting it down around the plants and writing Grandma’s name on a tag.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2026
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Kimmel, always happy to pat himself on the back, agreed.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In her first varsity at-bat the next day against Lincoln-Way Central, Krauchun stroked a single up the middle.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
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Ferrer then went back to the sinker, placed the 98 mph pitch on the outside edge of the plate and Merrill stroked it to left, clearing the bases for a walk-off win in front the remnants of a sellout crowd of 46,095.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Caress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caress. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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