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Glite Dictionary
💋 To kiss 🔀 To overlap groups ➰ To touch closely
to osculate

to osculate

9.9
Touch someone with the lips to greet or show affection
  • verb
  • /ˈɑskjʊˌleɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : besar
  • Before boarding the train, she osculated her child's forehead tenderly.

Examples

  • During their wedding, the couple osculated in front of the guests to seal their vows.

  • The actor osculated his co-star's cheek in the closing scene of the play.

  • Her vulva moistened, her labia were ready to osculate.

    Watch Out (2008)

Synonyms

to kiss
vsto osculate
∞ 1.0

To touch someone with your lips to show love, greeting, or respect

is a more formal or technical way to name that action
smooch
vsto osculate
  • Informal
14 6.1

A short, loving kiss shared between people

is the general lip touch, not necessarily passionate
to buss
vsto osculate
  • Archaic
9 9.9

To kiss someone, used in old books or poems

is the same act but in modern, more neutral language

How Intimate

to make out
  • NSFW
130 8.1
to snog
  • NSFW
34 8.7
to osculate
  • Formal
9.9
to peck
4 2.0

Surface Forms

osculate infinitive
osculated past
osculated past participle
osculating present participle
osculates third person singular

Morphology

osculate = oscul + ate

Although formed from the combining form 'oscul-' plus the productive verb-forming suffix '-ate', 'oscul-' is not a standalone English word, so learners cannot reliably infer 'kiss' from the components.

Etymology

Osculate comes from the Latin word osculum, meaning 'little mouth', and it was used for a touch of the lips. So to osculate someone is to 'kiss' or touch them gently with the lips.