A love affair is a romantic and usually sexual relationship between two people who love each otherbut who are not married or living together.
...a stressful love affair with a married man. [+ with]
[Also + between]
Synonyms: romance, relationship, affair, intrigue More Synonyms of love affair
2. singular noun
If you refer to someone's love affairwith something, you mean that they like it a lot and are very enthusiastic about it.
...the American love affair with firearms. [+ with]
Tom's love affair with France and most things French knew no bounds.
Synonyms: enthusiasm, love, passion, appreciation More Synonyms of love affair
love affair in British English
noun
1.
a romantic or sexual relationship, esp a temporary one, between two people
2.
a great enthusiasm or liking for something
a love affair with ballet
love affair in American English
1.
an amorous or romantic relationship or episode between two people not married to each other
2.
an intense or eager interest in something
Examples of 'love affair' in a sentence
love affair
He arrived and the great love affair began.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Is our love affair with technology coming to an end?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His love affair with manhole covers had begun.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He says that account misses two major, tragic love affairs.
The Sun (2016)
A friend gave him a gift of 12 golf lessons and that was the beginning of the love affair.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The love affair is well and truly over.
The Sun (2006)
Perhaps he regarded it as a souvenir of his first great love affair.
Paula Byrne PERDITA: The Life of Mary Robinson (2004)
At times it seemed almost like a platonic love affair.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We just have one big love affair.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Does this mean our love affair with wine is over?
The Sun (2011)
This is one love affair that does not appear destined to end any time soon.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is a love affair and one that is easily explained.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Though it just may also prove a welcome escape from his tedious job and two unresolved love affairs.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Tell me about your love affairs!
Aidan Hartley THE ZANZIBAR CHEST: A Memoir of Love and War (2003)
It was a great love affair.
The Sun (2012)
This was like a love affair.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The country's love affair with pizza also goes from strength to strength.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Instead she's made one about a love affair.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The great man's love affair with casino audiences lasted almost to the end.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
I have something of a love affair with disembodied aliens.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
When it comes to damaging the environment, our love affair with cars also has a lot to answer for.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Not surprisingly, though, rumours about a love affair flourished.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
People have a love affair with their Mini - they wake up with a smile on their face.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was like embarking on a full-blown love affair with a man who has been dead for 200 years.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
A romance between Victorian poets, echoed by the love affair of two modern biographers.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The received wisdom holds that the rekindled British love affair with two wheels is owed to the sporting triumphs of numerous individuals over the past 20 years.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Chinese translation of 'love affair'
love affair
n(c)
风(風)流韵(韻)事 (fēngliú yùnshì) (件, jiàn)
Nearby words of
love affair
lovable
love
love (from) Anne
love affair
love at first sight
love life
lovely
1 (noun)
Definition
a romantic or sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other
That was the beginning of their whirlwind love affair
Synonyms
romance
a holiday romance
relationship
She likes to have a relationship with her leading men.
affair
Two colleagues were carrying on an affair.
intrigue
She detected her husband in an intrigue with a co-worker.
liaison
She embarked on a liaison with a noted society figure.
amour
This meaningful amour had gone horribly wrong.
affaire de coeur (French)
2 (noun)
His love affair with France knew no bounds.
Synonyms
enthusiasm
Her lack of enthusiasm filled me with disappointment.
love
Our love for each other has been increased by what we've been through together.
passion
She has a passion for gardening.
Mountaineering is his passion.
appreciation
devotion
I was impressed by his devotion to his family.
mania
They had a mania for travelling.
zest
He has a zest for life and a quick intellect.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of affair
Definition
a sexual relationship outside marriage
Two colleagues were carrying on an affair.
Synonyms
relationship,
romance,
intrigue,
fling,
liaison,
flirtation,
amour,
dalliance
in the sense of amour
Definition
a secret love affair
This meaningful amour had gone horribly wrong.
Synonyms
love affair,
relationship,
affair,
romance,
intrigue,
liaison,
affaire de coeur
in the sense of devotion
Definition
strong attachment to or affection for someone or something
I was impressed by his devotion to his family.
Synonyms
love,
passion,
affection,
intensity,
attachment,
zeal,
fondness,
fervour,
adoration,
ardour,
earnestness
Nearby words of
love affair
loutish
lovable
love
love affair
loveless
lovelorn
lovely
Synonyms of 'love affair'
love affair
Explore 'love affair' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of intrigue
Definition
a secret love affair
She detected her husband in an intrigue with a co-worker.
Synonyms
affair,
romance,
intimacy,
liaison,
amour
in the sense of liaison
Definition
a secretive or adulterous sexual relationship
She embarked on a liaison with a noted society figure.
Synonyms
affair,
romance,
intrigue,
fling,
love affair,
amour,
entanglement,
illicit romance
in the sense of love
Definition
a deep feeling of sexual attraction
Our love for each other has been increased by what we've been through together.
Synonyms
passion,
liking,
regard,
friendship,
affection,
warmth,
attachment,
intimacy,
devotion,
tenderness,
fondness,
rapture,
adulation,
adoration,
infatuation,
ardour,
endearment,
aroha (New Zealand),
amity,
LUV
in the sense of mania
Definition
an obsessional enthusiasm or liking
They had a mania for travelling.
Synonyms
obsession,
passion,
thing (informal),
desire,
rage,
enthusiasm,
craving,
preoccupation,
craze,
fad (informal),
fetish,
fixation,
partiality
in the sense of passion
Definition
the object of an intense desire or enthusiasm
She has a passion for gardening.Mountaineering is his passion.
Synonyms
mania,
fancy,
enthusiasm,
obsession,
bug (informal),
craving,
fascination,
craze,
infatuation
in the sense of relationship
Definition
an emotional or sexual affair
She likes to have a relationship with her leading men.