Care For vs Care About
The terms care for and care about can be very confusing for most people as the difference between them is not very clear. Do we use care for or else care about? What is the difference? Do we care about someone or care for someone? These are some of the questions that we have. The terms care for and care about are not the same. They differ in their meanings. A single term can sometimes have a number of meanings that leads to further confusion. Through this article let us try to understand the varied meanings that each word carries and also the differences that stem in the application.
What does Care For mean?
The term care for can be used in a different situation and the meaning it carries can differ according to the situation as well as the object that we are referring to. Let us examine how the term can be used in the English language. When we say care for someone, it generates the meaning that you feel strongly about someone. This can be either for your family members or even for a partner. For example, look at the following statement.
‘I care for you a lot.’
What does this mean? It means that the speaker feels for the other in a tender manner; this can be a romantic attachment or otherwise. However, when we say care for something this simply means that the individual likes something. In most occasions, this is used in the negative, rather than in the affirmative. For example look at the following statement.
‘I don’t care for pumpkin pies’
This statement highlights that the person does not like pumpkin pies. There is another usage of the term care for. For example, in an instance of a natural disaster, social workers assist those who reside in temporary camps. This is an instance where the social workers care for the victims of the disaster. Notice how the meaning has been formed in this instance. It is different than the previous meanings that were assigned to the word. The meaning here is centered on providing assistance.
‘I don’t care for pumpkin pies’
What does Care About mean?
The word care about can also be used in different situations. Let us pay attention to the definitions. When we care about someone, it highlights that the individual is important to us. For example, look at the following statement.
‘I care about you’
This denotes that I value you. When we say care about something, it denotes the interest that the person has.
Look at another example.
‘Did you ever care about what would happen to them?’
This signifies the interest of the individual.
‘I care about you.’
What is the difference between Care For and Care About?
• The term care for can be used to mean the following:
Care for someone denotes you feel strongly about someone.
Care for something denotes that the individual likes something.
Care for can also mean providing assistance.
• However, the term care about can be used to mean the following:
Care about someone highlights that the individual is important to us.
Care about something, it denotes the interest that the person has.
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