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Glite Dictionary
the l-word

the l-word

1 9.6
A polite way to mention the word love when someone feels awkward saying it
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : la palabra l
  • When they finally said the L word, everything changed between them.
  • say the l-word

Gosh, not saying the L word is like it's like on my mind to not say it.

Examples

  • Gosh, not saying the L word is like it's like on my mind to not say it.

    Laura Lee

  • Yes, that's the L word.

    Blog text (1)

  • Oz: Oh shit dude, the L-word! Jim

    Fiction book (1999)

  • They don't even want to hear the L word, you know, like I got my look real, bro.

  • She hesitated to use the L word because she wasn't sure how he would react.

  • After months of dating, he finally felt ready to say the L word out loud.

Antonyms

the h-word
  • Informal
9.9

A polite way to mention the word hate without saying it

Surface Forms

the l-word singular
the l-words plural

Morphology

the + l-word

The form 'the L-word' transparently signals a euphemistic reference to some word beginning with the letter L (so a learner who knows 'L' and 'word' can infer it's avoiding a specific L-word). However, identifying the intended referent as 'love' requires cultural or contextual knowledge rather than simple composition, so the exact meaning is not fully predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

The phrase the l-word may come from people saying just the letter L instead of the full word when 'love' felt too strong or private. So, the l-word is used as a softer way to mean 'love'.