Find the word definition

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
free love
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Compare, for instance, its use in free speech, free love, free dinner and free trade.
▪ I liked to imagine that the tradition of free love had never died.
▪ Many anarchist ideas and customs flourished in our ranks: for instance, resistance to the law, free love, anti-clericalism.
▪ Men and women members had quite different understandings of the political implications of free love.
▪ That's what free love is free of - propaganda.
▪ This applies to both free love and apparently stable marriages.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Free love

Love \Love\ (l[u^]v), n. [OE. love, luve, AS. lufe, lufu; akin to E. lief, believe, L. lubet, libet, it pleases, Skr. lubh to be lustful. See Lief.]

  1. A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; pre["e]minent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters.

    Of all the dearest bonds we prove Thou countest sons' and mothers' love Most sacred, most Thine own.
    --Keble.

  2. Especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for, one of the opposite sex.

    He on his side Leaning half-raised, with looks of cordial love Hung over her enamored.
    --Milton.

  3. Courtship; -- chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage.

    Demetrius . . . Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena, And won her soul.
    --Shak.

  4. Affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will; -- opposed to hate; often with of and an object.

    Love, and health to all.
    --Shak.

    Smit with the love of sacred song.
    --Milton.

    The love of science faintly warmed his breast.
    --Fenton.

  5. Due gratitude and reverence to God.

    Keep yourselves in the love of God.
    --Jude 21.

  6. The object of affection; -- often employed in endearing address; as, he held his love in his arms; his greatest love was reading. ``Trust me, love.''
    --Dryden.

    Open the temple gates unto my love.
    --Spenser.

  7. Cupid, the god of love; sometimes, Venus.

    Such was his form as painters, when they show Their utmost art, on naked Lores bestow.
    --Dryden.

    Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw Love.
    --Shak.

  8. A thin silk stuff. [Obs.]
    --Boyle.

  9. (Bot.) A climbing species of C lematis ( Clematis Vitalba).

  10. Nothing; no points scored on one side; -- used in counting score at tennis, etc.

    He won the match by three sets to love.
    --The Field.

  11. Sexual intercourse; -- a euphemism. Note: Love is often used in the formation of compounds, in most of which the meaning is very obvious; as, love-cracked, love-darting, love-killing, love-linked, love-taught, etc. A labor of love, a labor undertaken on account of regard for some person, or through pleasure in the work itself, without expectation of reward. Free love, the doctrine or practice of consorting with one of the opposite sex, at pleasure, without marriage. See Free love. Free lover, one who avows or practices free love. In love, in the act of loving; -- said esp. of the love of the sexes; as, to be in love; to fall in love. Love apple (Bot.), the tomato. Love bird (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small, short-tailed parrots, or parrakeets, of the genus Agapornis, and allied genera. They are mostly from Africa. Some species are often kept as cage birds, and are celebrated for the affection which they show for their mates. Love broker, a person who for pay acts as agent between lovers, or as a go-between in a sexual intrigue. --Shak. Love charm, a charm for exciting love. --Ld. Lytton. Love child. an illegitimate child. --Jane Austen. Love day, a day formerly appointed for an amicable adjustment of differences. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman. --Chaucer. Love drink, a love potion; a philter. --Chaucer. Love favor, something given to be worn in token of love. Love feast, a religious festival, held quarterly by some religious denominations, as the Moravians and Methodists, in imitation of the agap[ae] of the early Christians. Love feat, the gallant act of a lover. --Shak. Love game, a game, as in tennis, in which the vanquished person or party does not score a point. Love grass. [G. liebesgras.] (Bot.) Any grass of the genus Eragrostis. Love-in-a-mist. (Bot.)

    1. An herb of the Buttercup family ( Nigella Damascena) having the flowers hidden in a maze of finely cut bracts.

    2. The West Indian Passiflora f[oe]tida, which has similar bracts.

      Love-in-idleness (Bot.), a kind of violet; the small pansy.

      A little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound; And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
      --Shak.

      Love juice, juice of a plant supposed to produce love.
      --Shak.

      Love knot, a knot or bow, as of ribbon; -- so called from being used as a token of love, or as a pledge of mutual affection.
      --Milman.

      Love lass, a sweetheart.

      Love letter, a letter of courtship.
      --Shak.

      Love-lies-bleeding (Bot.), a species of amaranth ( Amarantus melancholicus).

      Love match, a marriage brought about by love alone.

      Love potion, a compounded draught intended to excite love, or venereal desire.

      Love rites, sexual intercourse.
      --Pope

      Love scene, an exhibition of love, as between lovers on the stage.

      Love suit, courtship.
      --Shak.

      Of all loves, for the sake of all love; by all means. [Obs.] ``Mrs. Arden desired him of all loves to come back again.''
      --Holinshed.

      The god of love, or The Love god, Cupid.

      To make love, to engage in sexual intercourse; -- a euphemism.

      To make love to, to express affection for; to woo. ``If you will marry, make your loves to me.''
      --Shak.

      To play for love, to play a game, as at cards, without stakes. ``A game at piquet for love.''
      --Lamb.

      Syn: Affection; friendship; kindness; tenderness; fondness; delight.

Wiktionary
free love

n. the practice of sexual intercourse without the restraints of marriage or commitment

WordNet
free love

n. sexual intercourse between individuals who are not married to one another [syn: extramarital sex]

Wikipedia
Free Love (Denise Ho album)

free {love} is a Cantopop album by HOCC ( Denise Ho). The limited and normal edition were released on September 28, 2002 and October 23, 2002 respectively.1 This is the first album of hocc. Compare with the older two EP of her, this album has a totally different style. The songs are of less rock elements but more cantopop alike. You may also regard this cd as her experimental release which aims at seeking a point she can have her own style while satisfying the Hong Kong pop song market. The first edition also features an 80-page lyrics/picture book, a "HOCC Live Thoughts" CD and a 2002-2003 Calendar.

Free Love (film)

Free Love is a 1930 talking film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, directed by Hobart Henley and starring Conrad Nagel.

Free Love

Free Love may refer to:

  • Free love, a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women
  • Free Love (film), a 1930 film starring Conrad Nagel
  • "Free Love", a song by Morphine from their 1995 album Yes
  • "Free Love", a short story by Ali Smith, part of her book of short stories, " Free Love and Other Stories"
  • "Free Love", a song by Cage the Elephant from their self-titled debut album

Usage examples of "free love".

The group had never been that popular in the village, anyway, even before the Crasha bunch of hippy drop-outs bashing drums and indulging in free love and dope and tending their goats instead of getting themselves honest jobs.