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ex-boyfriend

ex-boyfriend

15 2.2
A man who used to be someone's boyfriend
  • noun
  • /ˈɛksˌbɔɪˌfrɛnd/
translation icon : exnovio
  • After they broke up, her ex-boyfriend still remained friends with her brother.
  • ex-boyfriend, Jack
  • my ex-boyfriend now
  • call from an ex-boyfriend

So we went and this girl's ex-boyfriend, I guess we'll call him Trevor.

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Examples

  • We are going to meet up with my ex-boyfriend for dinner tonight.

  • I was awaiting the arrival of my ex-boyfriend, Tom, in the meeting and greeting area of the airport.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Your focus should be on the future when you and your ex-boyfriend will be able to build a new relationship.

    Blog text (12)
  • "This is about Noah, my ex-boyfriend, who was so good to me I broke up with him."

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Getting back with your ex-boyfriend can sound like it would be extremely difficult, but it doesn't have to be.

    Blog text (12)
  • Don't force an initial contact with your ex-boyfriend; let it happen naturally.

    Blog text (12)
  • Meeting your ex-boyfriend isn't something to be embarrassed about?

  • "I still look at my ex-boyfriend's Facebook," admits Claire, a student at the University of Missouri.

    Blog text (16)
  • Jack, my ex-boyfriend now, is also an artist, but our approaches and mediums differ.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • If you hadn't given your ex-boyfriend a second chance, you wouldn't even be having a wedding.

Synonyms

ex
vsex-boyfriend
351 4.1

A person who used to be your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife

refers only to a male former romantic partner of a woman
old flame
vsex-boyfriend
14 4.2

A person you used to date

is more specific meaning a male former romantic partner of a woman

Antonyms

1.0

A man who is in a romantic relationship with someone

Surface Forms

ex-boyfriend singular
ex-boyfriends plural

Morphology

ex-boyfriend = boyfriend (transparent) = ex + boy + friend

The prefix 'ex-' clearly means 'former' when attached to the noun 'boyfriend'.

Etymology

Ex-boyfriend comes from the prefix ex- meaning 'former', as in ex-president, and boyfriend meaning 'a man you are dating'. So an ex-boyfriend is a man who used to be your boyfriend.