caress vs dandle

caress is a noun but dandle is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
caress	Yes	No	Yes	No
dandle	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, dandle is a hyponym of caress; that is, dandle is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than caress:

Other hyponyms of caress include paw, grope, pet, chuck, pat, nose, nuzzle, pet, tickle.

caress (noun)	dandle (noun)
a gentle affectionate stroking (or something resembling it)

caress (verb)	dandle (verb)
touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner	pet
	move (a baby) up and down in one's arms or on one's knees