philanderer

noun

phi·​lan·​der·​er fə-ˈlan-dər-ər How to pronounce philanderer (audio)
plural philanderers
Synonyms of philanderernext
disapproving
: a man who has sexual relations with many women
especially : a man who is unfaithful to his wife or partner
… on a realistic level King is an incorrigible philanderer who deserts his gentle wife … —Louise Westling
[Florenz] Ziegfeld's private life was messy. He was an outrageous philanderer who at one point kept a mistress in the same hotel he lived in with Anna Held. —Alicia Metcalf Miller
Until then, public officials who were philanderers or alcoholics … pretty much operated with immunity from disclosure so long as their professional performance was unaffected. —Tom Goldstein

Synonyms of philanderer

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of philanderer in a Sentence

an incorrigible philanderer who was often in lust and never in love
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First there’s her dad (Woody Harrelson), an inveterate philanderer who would like to make amends — in order to please his new girlfriend. — Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 12 Dec. 2025 Her dad was known as a community activist and leader, similar to her pastor ex-husband; and also similarly, was known to be a philanderer in his own right. — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 22 Dec. 2025 Is Jack a do-nothing philanderer while Shyanne desperately tries to preserve their five-year romance, or is the truth more complicated than that? — Todd Gilchrist, IndieWire, 7 May 2026 There were, and are, persistent rumors that Bill Paley was a philanderer, rumors fictionalized and retold, in print and on television, like a game of telephone, the facts becoming murkier in each retelling. — Belle Burden, Vanity Fair, 6 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for philanderer

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of philanderer was in 1841

Rhymes for philanderer

See All Rhymes for philanderer

Browse Nearby Words

philander
philanderer
philanthid
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Philanderer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philanderer. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All