Liking

//ˈlaɪkɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A like; a predilection. countable, uncountable

    "The likings and dislikings of society, or of some powerful portion of it, are thus the main thing which has practically determined the rules laid down for general observance, under the penalties of law or opinion."

  2. 2
    a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment wordnet
  3. 3
    Approval. archaic, countable, uncountable

    "goods bought on liking"

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of like form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
a thing foradmirationadorationaffectionaffinityagape

Example

More examples

"If you have no liking for modern music, you will not enjoy this concert."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English likinge, likinde, likende, likande, licande, from Old English līciende, līciġende, from Proto-Germanic *līkāndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *līkāną, equivalent to like + -ing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English likinge, from Old English līcung (“pleasing; pleasure; gratification; liking”), equivalent to like + -ing.

Related phrases

for one's likinggood likingtake a liking toto someone's liking

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.