philander

verb

phi·​lan·​der fə-ˈlan-dər How to pronounce philander (audio)
philandered; philandering fə-ˈlan-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce philander (audio)
Synonyms of philandernext

intransitive verb

: to have casual or illicit sex with a person or with many people
especially : to be sexually unfaithful to one's spouse
—usually used of a man
… her philandering brother-in-law; and … the schoolteacher he philanders with. —Judith Crist

Synonyms of philander

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of philander in a Sentence

he can't seem to stop philandering, even now that he's on his fifth marriage
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.
The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026 About deluded coaches and philandering teammates and practice-field punch-ups. — Leander Schaerlaeckens june 8, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026 Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2026 Specifically by unpacking Yasmin’s issues with her philandering father. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for philander

Word History

Etymology

from obsolete philander lover, philanderer, probably from the name Philander

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of philander was in 1737

Rhymes for philander

See All Rhymes for philander

Browse Nearby Words

philamot
philander
philanderer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

philander

verb
phi·​lan·​der fə-ˈlan-dər How to pronounce philander (audio)
philandered; philandering -d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce philander (audio)
: to be sexually unfaithful to one's wife
philanderer
-dər-ər How to pronounce philander (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on philander

Nglish: Translation of philander for Spanish Speakers

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