Love Idioms and Phrases

Do you understand the concept of love? Responses to that question vary among individuals.

For some, love entails care, affection, and understanding, while for others, it involves adoration for a significant other, self-sacrifice, and the yearning to spend as much time as possible with a beloved person.

When you’re learning English online, comprehending idioms becomes a crucial aspect of the learning journey. We’ve already delved into idiomatic expressions in English related to friendship, relationships, time, knowledge, food, and even business. Now, let’s explore ten idioms about love in the English language. Some of these idioms might be familiar to you, while others could be new.

After all, love is an essential component of life, akin to friendship. It serves as the central theme in poems, songs, and movies.

Love permeates our lives, bringing about fundamental changes. It not only serves as inspiration but also wields a destructive force.

But let’s steer clear of delving too deeply into psychology and philosophy, shall we?

Love Idioms

Let’s begin with arguably the most familiar and widely used idiom concerning love:

1. Love-hate relationship

At times, this pertains to a scenario in which emotions have faded between a couple, yet they persist in staying together merely out of routine.

Alternatively, it could describe a situation where a couple engages in daily arguments, yet their love for each other endures.

Certain individuals view such relationships as entirely typical.

For example:

•         Jake’s friends wonder why he’s still together with Mary: they have a love-hate relationship for sure.

2. Make love, not war

A popular song by John Lennon advocates for “Make love, not war,” you recall, right? This English expression can be applied in various situations.

For example:

•         Stop fighting you two! Make love, not war.
•         I guess this argument is senseless. Let’s make love, not war!

3. The love of my life

As you may have deduced, this signifies “the individual I cherish most in my life.”

For example:

•         Jim and Lidia have been together for almost forty years. Jim considers Lidia to be the love of his life.
•         It’s so wonderful to be the love of somebody’s life, isn’t it?

Another idiom that may describe this feeling is to fall head over heels, which just means to fall deeply in love.

4. Love is blind

When we experience love, we tend not to observe the imperfections and shortcomings of the other individual.

For example:

•         Have you seen Mike’s new girlfriend? Love is blind I must say.
•         Angela had crossed eyes and bowed legs, but Bubba doesn’t see it: love is blind.

A similar idiom, love at first sight, means to fall in love at the drop of a hat without knowing the person.

5. A face only a mother could love

To our mother, we forever appear youthful and lovely.

Even in the presence of acne or the emergence of initial wrinkles, your mother will always insist that her child is the most beautiful of all.

Nevertheless, this idiom in English means “not very attractive.”

For example:

•         My favourite boxer has a face only a mother could love.
•         Despite the fact that she has a face only a mother could love, she is the best girl for me.

6. Love will find a way

The ninth expression on our list conveys that if two individuals deeply in love genuinely wish to be together, they will discover a way, even if it proves challenging.

For example:

•         Vivian and Steve got married after not seeing each other for six years. Someone said: love will find a way.

7. Absence makes the heart grow fonder

The final expression in our compilation implies that individuals’ feelings for each other intensify during periods of separation.

An idiom with an opposing meaning is “familiarity breeds contempt.” This indicates that spending excessive time together can lead to mutual dislike.

There’s a lot to delve into on this topic, isn’t there?

For example:

•         To calm me down, he told me that absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s hard to believe!

8. All’s fair in love and war

There are no set rules when it comes to love and discovering someone to love. Do you concur?

For example:

       Alice thinks that all’s fair in love and war, so she started flirting with a rich married man.

9. Love makes the world go round

This English expression signifies that love is the primary driving force in human life.

For example:

    I wish the nations would stop fighting: it’s love that makes the world go round.