a. in love (with): enamoured (of), filled with love (for); (in extended use) very fond (of), much addicted (to).
b. to fall (also †be taken, caught) in love: to become enamoured; (in extended use) to become passionately attached to, dote on. Freq. with with. Also in early use †to yfall (also be brought) into love's dance.
(Oxford English Dictionary Online)
I have a Challenge for you dear reader. Use one of these definitions of the word instead of using the phrase. I believe it will clear up confusion as to the exact definition of love as it pertains to the conversation betwixt two people aspiring to convey their true feelings for each other. The English language is so extensive. Why say, “I love you,” when you can say, “ I cannot wait to see you again because this time i have spent with you had filled my heart to the brim and any more time with you would have these emotions of intense desire and joy spill into my everyday life making me smile at anyone and everyone with the secret of the devotion that we share,” or “ The curve at the end of your lip presents an insatiable desire in my soul to dig deeper into your life to find out the things that will make that curve of happiness grow and spread from your face and infect my face with more of the same,” or even “The traits you possess make me want to be the kind of man to deserve your affection.”
You may say, “But Tim, i dont have those same words for my feelings!” To which i will say, Find them. They exist. You just need to look farther than the words you know now and put more words together until you can look a them and find the exact word you feel. Maybe even look up a word you want to use but are not sure if thats the right word. It might just be the exact word you need.
Maybe the word people need to use is the word ‘enamored’ which is:
“Full of the passion of love;” (OED)
This is to mean that it is not specifically love but definitely filled with the passions of love. To love requires some form of passion and that passion i believe does not exactly infer that love is present but with love is inferred an amount of passion that can exist outside of love itself. Much like a rocketship, a car having a rocket propulsions system does not make the car suddenly a rocketship because it would not be sustained as a spaceship; and yes the ‘rocketship’ definition does include the need for a spaceship and rockets in tandem. (OED)
So, use the rocket for sure but make sure you are in a spaceship first and not a car. Cars usually get crushed when put under intense atmospheric density. How do you find out what your vehicle is made of? Study it, and have the right language to know what endures and what wont.
