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The most confusing word in the English language

I think the most confusing word in the English language is "love." Look no further than the dictionary for proof of that. At dictionary.com, the word love is given not 1, not 2, not 22, but 28 definitions. When a word can confuse even the dictionary, chances are it's quite the puzzling term. There's even a song by the title of, "What Is Love?"

I think one reason the term is so perplexing is like with a lot of things, there are many shades of grey to it, but unlike a lot of things, it involves a great deal of emotion, and as I and many others have learned, emotion can blindside us at times and override rational thought.

It's common for a person to love a friend, a family member, and a spouse, yet these forms of love are felt and expressed differently to each person. Love appears to take on a life of its own to each and every important person in our lives.

So can love truly be defined at all? Is this why there are 28 definitions in the dictionary and that list appears to grow by the year?

The term grows increasingly more complicated when talking about being "in love" with a person. It's quite one thing to say, "I love him - like a brother" and quite another to say, "I think I'm in love with him." So how does one know where to draw the line? Does that line differ for different people?

I think most everybody, at one point or another, desires to be in love with someone. A lot of times, I see people reach the point where they so desire that sensation - whatever it may be - that they fall in love with the concept of love and wind up dating or marrying a person they'll later regret. Several old friends of mine have gotten divorced in the past 2-3 years. Were they ever sincerely in love with their former spouses? Can people fall out of love? Were they just in love with love before realizing that was the case and decided to end things?

Hollywood romantic comedies, along with romance novels, appear to insinuate that there can only be one true love for us all and that person is determined by fate. Is that in any way accurate? If so, why is it some people die alone? Also, is it possible for a person to fall in love with multiple people at different times or even at the same time?

Anymore, I think the term love gets used too loosely by many people, and at the end of the day, I honestly don't feel it can be accurately defined. Yet, even so, I know that most people long for this undefinable word and feeling, and hope that each and every one of us can attain it, if just once.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love?s=t
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