Adjacent Words

Dalliance definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DAL'LIANCE, n.
1. Literally, delay; a lingering; appropriately, acts of fondness; interchange of caresses; toying, as males and females; as youthful dalliance.
2. Conjugal embraces; commerce of the sexes.
3. Delay.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working [syn: dalliance, dawdling, trifling]
2: playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest [syn: flirt, flirting, flirtation, coquetry, dalliance, toying]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century an act of dallying: as a. play; especially amorous play b. frivolous action ; trifling

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a leisurely or frivolous passing of time. Etymology: DALLY + -ANCE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dalliance Dal"li*ance, n. [From Dally.] 1. The act of dallying, trifling, or fondling; interchange of caresses; wanton play. Look thou be true, do not give dalliance Too mnch the rein. --Shak. O, the dalliance and the wit, The flattery and the strife! --Tennyson. 2. Delay or procrastination. --Shak. 3. Entertaining discourse. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dalliances) 1. If two people have a brief romantic relationship, you can say that they have a dalliance with each other, especially if they do not take it seriously. (OLD-FASHIONED) N-VAR: oft N with n 2. Someone's dalliance with something is a brief involvement with it. (OLD-FASHIONED) ...my brief dalliance with higher education. N-COUNT: oft poss N, N with n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Caressing, fondling, endearments, billing and cooing.

Moby Thesaurus

amorous dalliance, amorous looks, billing and cooing, bundling, caressing, come-hither look, coquetry, coquettish glances, coquettishness, coyness, cuddling, dabbling, dallying, dawdling, dilatoriness, dillydallying, fiddling, flirtation, flirtatiousness, fondling, fooling, fooling around, goo-goo eyes, hugging, idling, jerking off, kidding around, kissing, lag, lagging, lingering, loitering, lollygagging, lovemaking, messing around, monkeying, monkeying around, necking, nestling, nuzzling, ogle, petting, piddling, playing, playing around, pottering, procrastination, puttering, sexual intercourse, shilly-shallying, smattering, snuggling, spooning, tarriance, tarrying, tinkering, toying, trifling, waiting