Beloved
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Someone who is loved; something that is loved.
"[…] Chriſtian, with deſire fell ſick, Hopeful alſo had a fit or two of the ſame Diſeaſe: Wherefore, here they lay by it a while, crying out, becauſe of their pangs, If ye ſee my Beloved, tell him that I am ſick of love."
- 2 a beloved person; used as terms of endearment wordnet
- 1 simple past and past participle of belove. form-of, obsolete, participle, past
"Dearly beloved in the Lord, ye coming to his holy Communion, must consider what St. Paul writeth to the Corinthians, how he exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, or ever they presume to eat of this bread, and drink of this Cup: […]"
- 1 Much loved, dearly loved.
"But I found at laſt, by hearing and conſidering of things that are Divine, which indeed I heard of you, as alſo of beloved Faithful, that was put to death for his Faith and good-living in Vanity-fair, That the end of these things is death. [Rom[ans] 6. 21, 22, 23.] And that for theſe things ſake, the wrath of God cometh upon the children of diſobedience. [Eph[esians] 5. 6.]"
- 1 dearly loved wordnet
Example
More examples"His wife died leaving behind their two beloved children."
Etymology
From Middle English beloved, biloved, equivalent to belove + -ed.
Related phrases
More for "beloved"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.