Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To show excessive fondness or love.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A dotard.
- noun A state of stupor; dotage.
- To be stupid; act like a fool.
- To be silly or weak-minded from age; have the intellect impaired by age, so that the mind wanders or wavers.
- To bestow excessive love; lavish extravagant fondness or liking: with on or upon: as, to
dote on a sweetheart; he dotes upon oysters. - To decay, as a tree.
- To love to excess.
- noun Same as
dot . - noun plural Natural gifts or endowments.
- To endow; give as endowment.
- noun Decay or rot in timber.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A marriage portion. [Obs.] See 1st
dot , n. - noun obsolete Natural endowments.
- noun An imbecile; a dotard.
- intransitive verb obsolete To act foolishly.
- intransitive verb To be weak-minded, silly, or idiotic; to have the intellect impaired, especially by age, so that the mind wanders or wavers; to drivel.
- intransitive verb To be excessively or foolishly fond; to love to excess; to be weakly affectionate; -- with
on or upon .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb intransitive To be excessively
fond of. - verb intransitive, archaic To act in a
foolish manner; to besenile . - noun Ireland A
darling , acutie . - noun obsolete An
imbecile ; adotard .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb be foolish or senile due to old age
- verb shower with love; show excessive affection for
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Then you won't have another chance to get a mess of those trout you just 'dote' on."
MOON-FACE 2010
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She rented a teeny apartment on Ocean Avenue, packed with super sized closets, dainty french provincial furniture, and three kids she did not dote on.
Maryjane Fahey: The "Absolutely Fabulous" Woman Who Showed Me The Way Maryjane Fahey 2012
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Her husband, Gray, loves her fiercely; together, they dote on their beautiful young daughter, Victory.
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I was just six when I wrote it and my aunt was always one to dote on her precocious nephew.
Leftover Author's Notes Christian Bell 2011
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Its main mission: to show the world that not all Westchester women just lounge around their extravagant homes, drape themselves in gaudy gowns and dote on their privileged children.
Reality-TV Dreaming Shelly Banjo 2011
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Seems to me the Tempter comes in many forms, and is just as likely to dote a three-piece-suit and wingtips as he is to have horns and a pitchfork.
Shane Claiborne: Exorcise Wall Street Shane Claiborne 2012
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She rented a teeny apartment on Ocean Avenue, packed with super sized closets, dainty french provincial furniture, and three kids she did not dote on.
Maryjane Fahey: The "Absolutely Fabulous" Woman Who Showed Me The Way Maryjane Fahey 2012
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She rented a teeny apartment on Ocean Avenue, packed with super sized closets, dainty french provincial furniture, and three kids she did not dote on.
Maryjane Fahey: The "Absolutely Fabulous" Woman Who Showed Me The Way Maryjane Fahey 2012
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She rented a teeny apartment on Ocean Avenue, packed with super sized closets, dainty french provincial furniture, and three kids she did not dote on.
Maryjane Fahey: The "Absolutely Fabulous" Woman Who Showed Me The Way Maryjane Fahey 2012
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As in weeks past, Burnett continued to dote on Christina, laughing and talking with her alone for several commercial breaks.
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