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lover

lover

614 1.0
A person who has a romantic or sexual relationship with someone
  • noun
  • /ˈlʌvər/
: amante
  • After a long day at work, he enjoyed coming home to his lover's warm embrace.
  • lovers and friends
  • lovers and spouses
  • husband or lover

His long time partner and lover accidentally ran over him.

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Examples

  • The lyrics told the story of a woman waiting for her lover on the bank of the river.

    Academic text (2013)
  • You have to understand that my husband Robert was my-- he was my best friend, my lover, and my provider, and he's gone.

  • If you want to be my lover, you know it's fair.

  • Goodbye my lover, Goodbye my friend.

  • Say you had a lover that died at war and he never came back.

  • Still, not many of us can say our lover died for love.

  • Suddenly, I wanted to be with a lover, to be held, to be understood.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A girl on the plane and I had become lovers the night before.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Sondra and her Fulbright lover were meeting for a week's holiday in New York.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A middle-aged widow seeking a lover often demonstrates that she is a good hunter and gatherer.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

boyfriend
vslover
∞ 1.0

A man who is in a romantic relationship with someone

is any romantic or sexual partner regardless of gender or marital status
girlfriend
vslover
∞ 1.0

A woman someone is dating

is any romantic or sexual partner regardless of gender or dating stage
sweetheart
vslover
  • Informal
∞ 1.0

A person you love in a romantic way

is the neutral expression for a romantic or sexual relationship
partner
vslover
878 1.1

A husband, wife, or long-term companion in a romantic relationship

also covers casual or short relationships, not only long-term unions
lady friend
vslover
  • Informal
40 3.7

A woman who is in a romantic relationship with a man

covers any romantic or sexual partner without specifying gender
33 3.3

A person you have a long romantic relationship with and often live with

is broader, applying to any romantic or sexual relationship length
beloved
vslover
19 3.4

A person who is very much loved

is a broader term for any romantic or sexual partner without that emphasis
beau
vslover
16 7.8

A man who is someone's romantic partner or boyfriend

is the general term without gender or formal tone
paramour
vslover
  • Literature
9 8.1

A person who has a secret romantic relationship, often outside marriage

is neutral and does not imply secrecy or wrongdoing
swain
vslover
  • Archaic
4 9.9

A man who loves a woman and tries to win her, often in old poems

is the everyday modern term for any romantic or sexual partner
amore
vslover
  • Informal
1 9.1

A person you love as a romantic partner

is the neutral English term without foreign style or connotation
ladylove
vslover
  • Archaic
1 7.8

A woman who is a man's sweetheart

is the neutral term for any romantic or sexual partner
shortie
vslover
  • Slang
1 9.4

A casual name for a person you date, often a girlfriend

is the standard word without slang or playful register
truelove
vslover
  • Literature
5.8

A person someone cares for deeply and wants to be with

is the general word without implying deep or exceptional love

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

A person who wants to harm or defeat you

Compounds

11 2.4

A person who enjoys listening to music and goes to concerts

3 1.4

A person who loves reading and collecting books

2 2.8

A person who enjoys and knows about wine

A person who loves the character Bambi or cute animals and cares for wildlife

How Committed

spouse
272 1.0
partner
878 1.1
lover
614 1.0
boyfriend
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

lover singular
lovers plural

Morphology

lover = love (transparent) = love + er

Standard agent/participant formation from the verb 'love' yielding 'one in a romantic relationship' or 'one who loves'.

Etymology

Lover originally just meant 'one who loves', coming from the old English root love and the ending -er 'one who'. That's why a lover can mean a romantic partner — someone who loves another person.