darling

1 of 2

noun

dar·​ling ˈdär-liŋ How to pronounce darling (audio)
1
: a dearly loved person
2
: favorite
a director who is the darling of the critics

darling

2 of 2

adjective

1
: dearly loved : favorite
2
: very pleasing : charming
darlingly adverb
darlingness noun

Examples of darling in a Sentence

Noun She was mother's little darling. for a while that candidate was the darling of the news media and could do no wrong Adjective This is my darling daughter, Sara. That dress is just darling.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Margot Robbie has gone from Chanel darling to daring fashion plate in a relatively short space of time. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 Pinot gris has been eclipsed by chardonnay as the darling white grape of Oregon’s winemakers, so kudos to Sokol Blosser for sticking with it. Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Colman Domingo, nominated this year for Best Actor for his role in Rustin, stars in TIFF darling Sing Sing, the trailer for which just dropped today. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 Just as a market darling of the dot-com era, Cisco Systems Inc., is still a successful company, but investors who bought the stock around its peak and held on are still waiting to recoup their losses — 24 years later. Esha Day, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2024 The iPhone is still the darling of the Apple stable. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 2 Mar. 2024 Zion Williamson, Kelsey Plum, Anthony Davis, Maya Moore, Allen Iverson, Brittney Griner and Shaquille O’Neal all entered their respective NBA and WNBA Drafts after having become national darlings in the NCAA. Ben Morse, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024 The New York Knicks have become the new darlings of the Eastern Conference, and deservingly so. Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Meantime, companies like Nvidia and other chipmakers have emerged as the growth stock darlings. Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The essence of the inimitable country icon has been funneled into a darling new figurine, complete with a glittering orange bodysuit and bold blue eyeshadow. Melissa Epifano, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024 The actor, 35, took to Instagram on Monday to share a tribute to the darling little girl. Marisa Sullivan, Peoplemag, 27 Dec. 2022 This pencil sign for the first or last day of school is both darling and so simple. Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 14 July 2022 Widen your horizons with a red Breton stripe, like this one with a darling bow toe at the back. Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 2 May 2022 While out in London today, Olivia Wilde wore a beanie, red Northface x Gucci puffer coat, spandex, New Balance sneakers, and a darling blue sweatshirt with a cartoon frog and the word Pleasing emblazoned on its chest. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2022 But perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the spring- and summer-friendly piece are the darling faux pearl buttons at the bodice that add a charming touch to the entire number. Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 25 Mar. 2022 Nothing says spring like pastel hues, and this baby-yellow, fur trim cardigan is too darling to pass up. Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2022 In addition to the new boss, this Window Shop experience features the charming Elana Scherr, the endearing Jonathon Ramsey, the darling K.C. Colwell, and some guy who has never ever been hired by Car and Driver. John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 25 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'darling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English derling, from Old English dēorling, from dēore dear

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of darling was before the 12th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near darling

Cite this Entry

“Darling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darling. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

darling

1 of 2 noun
dar·​ling ˈdär-liŋ How to pronounce darling (audio)
1
: a dearly loved person
2

darling

2 of 2 adjective
1
: dearly loved : favorite
2
: very pleasing : charming

Geographical Definition

Darling

geographical name

Dar·​ling ˈdär-liŋ How to pronounce Darling (audio)
river 1702 miles (2738 kilometers) long in southeastern Australia in Queensland and New South Wales flowing southwest into the Murray River

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