--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People throw the word love around like…" description: "\"People throw the word love around like confetti when they actually mean affection.\" — Robert Cormier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png" --- # People throw the word love around like confetti when they… ![“People throw the word love around like confetti when they actually mean affection.” quote by Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png) > “People throw the word love around like confetti when they actually mean affection.” [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “love” is overused and often misapplied, reducing its meaning; true affection is distinct and more genuine. **In simple terms:** Love is misused; affection is real. Key Takeaway Use words precisely to preserve meaning. Themes language love affection misuse Mood reflective critical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal relationships - writing - social commentary Key Concepts semantic precision authenticity communication Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate love from affection? - What words have lost meaning for you? A Different Perspective Over‑use can dilute emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Confetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confetti/) [Confetti Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confetti-actually-3634291/) [Like Confetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-confetti-295897/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-affection-498946/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Word Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-love/) ## Related quotes > [Affection is one of the most neglected words in the English language, that people throw the word love around like confetti when they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/affection-is-one-of-the-most-neglected-words-in-the-english-language/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [“Sundays are like confetti floating in the air in slow motion, in the evening they reach the ground and you hope a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-bremond-torrent/sundays-are-like-confetti-floating-in-the-air-in-slow-motion-in-the/) [Alain Bremond-Torrent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-bremond-torrent/) > [“Throw kindness like confetti.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/throw-kindness-like-confetti/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [Here we are at the bottom, almost empty. It's like confetti, these dried remnants you find in the street for a party no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/here-we-are-at-the-bottom-almost-empty-it-s-like-confetti-these-dried/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [It's not till sex has died out between a man and a woman that they can really love. And now I mean affection. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-bagnold/it-s-not-till-sex-has-died-out-between-a-man-and-a-woman-that-they/) [Enid Bagnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-bagnold/) > [It's not till sex has died out between a man and a woman that they can really love. And now I mean affection. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-bagnold/it-s-not-till-sex-has-died-out-between-a-man-and-a-woman-that-they-2/) [Enid Bagnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-bagnold/) > [“I do not own the words used to debase me in any way shape or form. I gladly take the shrapnel and shower it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/i-do-not-own-the-words-used-to-debase-me-in-any-way-shape-or-form-i/) [Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/) > [Just because you have a guy's attention doesn't mean you have his affection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-because-you-have-a-guy-s-attention-doesn-t-mean-you-have-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What mattered to Abu was the music of the sentence. 'A shadow does not belong to the object that casts it.' To Abu, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/what-mattered-to-abu-was-the-music-of-the-sentence-a-shadow-does-not/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [How strange and abandoned and unsettled I am. Like a snowdome paper weight that's been shaken. There's a blizzard in my bubble. Everything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-silvey/how-strange-and-abandoned-and-unsettled-i-am-like-a-snowdome-paper/) [Craig Silvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-silvey/) > [If hearts really did break, every time we fell from love, I’d be able to offer you confetti by now. But hearts don’t break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/if-hearts-really-did-break-every-time-we-fell-from-love-i-d-be-able/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [I feel sorry for confetti. Its useful life lasts about two seconds. And it can never be used again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-feel-sorry-for-confetti-its-useful-life-lasts-about-two-seconds-and/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [He likes 'Confetti,' and he doesn't like 'Star Wars.' I think that just relieves us from the burden of ever having to take Mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/he-likes-confetti-and-he-doesn-t-like-star-wars-i-think-that-just/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) [Benedict Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-fitzgerald/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More by Robert Cormier > [“Eric Poole began with cats. Or, to be more exact, kittens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/eric-poole-began-with-cats-or-to-be-more-exact-kittens/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [...pain reaches a certain point and does not get worse but remains in all its intensity and you can survive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/pain-reaches-a-certain-point-and-does-not-get-worse-but-remains-in/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [It came to me that hell would not be fire and smoke after all but arctic, everything white and frigid. Hell would be not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/it-came-to-me-that-hell-would-not-be-fire-and-smoke-after-all-but/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I don't like to think in terms of writing ten or twelve pages a day. Usually I'm writing a scene, and it's always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-don-t-like-to-think-in-terms-of-writing-ten-or-twelve-pages-a-day/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [“Mr. Sinclair once asked the class to make a list of the ten most beautiful words in the English language, and the only word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/mr-sinclair-once-asked-the-class-to-make-a-list-of-the-ten-most/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [The earliest influence on me was the movies of the thirties when I was growing up. Those were stories. If you look at them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/the-earliest-influence-on-me-was-the-movies-of-the-thirties-when-i/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [“He was afraid that his body would come loose, all his bones spilling out like a building collapsing, like a picket fence clattering apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/he-was-afraid-that-his-body-would-come-loose-all-his-bones-spilling/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I have always had a sense that we are all pretty much alone in life, particularly in adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-have-always-had-a-sense-that-we-are-all-pretty-much-alone-in-life/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I don't mean to be insolent. I'm truthful. I tell the truth and the truth sometimes hurts. For instance, you have bad breath, Lieutenant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-don-t-mean-to-be-insolent-i-m-truthful-i-tell-the-truth-and-the/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/the-beautiful-part-of-writing-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-get-it-right/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [That's what Archie did - built a house nobody could anticipate a need for, except himself, a house that was invisible to everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/that-s-what-archie-did-built-a-house-nobody-could-anticipate-a-need/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [“They tell you to do your own thing but they don't mean it. They don't want you to do your thing, not unless it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/they-tell-you-to-do-your-own-thing-but-they-don-t-mean-it-they-don-t/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I've had aunts and uncles who not only haven't read my books but could hardly believe that I was a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-ve-had-aunts-and-uncles-who-not-only-haven-t-read-my-books-but/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [You bring up your children to be self-reliant and independent and they double-cross you and become self-reliant and independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/you-bring-up-your-children-to-be-self-reliant-and-independent-and/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [“We just might make a quarterback out of you yet, you skinny little son of a bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/we-just-might-make-a-quarterback-out-of-you-yet-you-skinny-little-son/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) [Explore all 99 Robert Cormier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People throw the word love around like confetti when they actually mean affection.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Cormier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-confetti-when-they-actually/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-confetti-when-they-actually/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ded/robert-cormier-6436_affection_people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-c_1205683.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People throw the word love around like confetti when they actually mean affection.” — Robert Cormier", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Cormier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People throw the word love around...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-confetti-when-they-actually/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/people-throw-the-word-love-around-like-confetti-when-they-actually/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```