To fondle someone is to touch them gently with your hands, moving your fingers over their body in a way that shows love or sexual desire. It is not a quick pat, and it is not a medical check. The touch is slow, and it is about feeling, not about helping. Between lovers it can be tender. From a stranger, or when the other person does not want it, it sounds wrong and can be an attack. Though actually, English used to allow a warmer, more innocent use — a parent fondling a baby’s hair, or someone fondling a piece of cloth to feel how soft it is. That gentler use is fading, because the sexual reading is now so strong. In careful speech today, people often choose stroke, caress, or hold instead, unless they clearly mean a sexual touch. The word is a little old-fashioned even in that sense; younger speakers may just say touch or feel up, which is ruder.