These words all convey the meaning of having a warm feeling towards or strong attachment to some person or thing. Loving is a broad word that refers to personal regard. It can be used in speaking of the regard itself or of the regard itself or of its outward indications: a loving couple; loving glances. It can describe a reserved emotion or one that is notable for its demonstration: loving parents who would rather risk their child’s displeasure than spoil him; a happy, loving child who seems to want nothing more than to kiss and hug anyone who comes near her.

A loving person whose feelings or demonstrations go beyond the bounds of good taste or good judgement is often described as doting : a doting lover whose foolish extravagances and emotional absurdities lost him his mistress; a doting mother who alienated her husband by lavishing too much love on their child.

Devoted and fond , unlike loving and doting , are used in reference to the feeling a person has towards some thing as well as towards another person. The difference between them in such usage is one of degree, devoted bespeaking a much greater amount of attachment to the thing involved: a student of the piano who is fond of all the romantics and especially devoted to Rachmaninoff. In characterizing emotion directed towards a person, devoted again is a stronger word than fond and often suggests the depth of feeling that results from time-tested loyalty: a couple who were nothing more than fond of each other when they married but who have grown into devoted lovers. Devoted , as no other word in the group does, can refer to the enthusiasm or ardour involved in an attachment which need not necessarily have any sentimental suggestions: devoted to his job; a devoted follower of Marxist philosophy.