significant other
33
3.3
- noun
- /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt ˈʌðər/
:
pareja
- My significant other Nancy has taken care of everything.
- spouse or significant other
- partner or significant other
- relationship with significant other
And so in that sense, he's a very good significant other to Benji.
- And so in that sense, he's a very good significant other to Benji.
- I, I mean, I would like to bring a significant other to my sister's wedding.
- If you're still excited to watch a show with your significant other, good on you.
- And here we once again see Benji as Luster's significant other and the other way around as well.
- You have a bad relationship with a spouse, a significant other, a family member, all of those things.
- What just feel like seeing your significant other clean their ass?
- This is actually my significant other, Diana Wilburn and me.
- I want them to be to bring their significant others back with them.
Examples
-
I am Jewel's significant other.
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We're going to be talking about what happens if you are ready to have a baby, but your partner, your spouse, your significant other, is not ready to have a baby.
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Probably about a year and a half, two years ago, me and my significant other had a child together.
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The patient's family and significant others play an extremely important role in treatment.
Academic text (1995) -
Parents, children, grandparents, and significant others are invited and encouraged to participate in the program.
Academic text (1997) -
So choose your friends and your significant other wisely.
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Everyone here is with their spouse or significant other.
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They live with their significant others.
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Do you have a significant other whom you can share your dreams with?
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When planning a vacation, it's important to consult your significant other for their preferences.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A man who is in a romantic relationship with someone
∞
1.0
A woman someone is dating
878
1.1
A husband, wife, or long-term companion in a romantic relationship
194
1.2
A person who is your partner in a close romantic relationship
16
7.8
A man who is someone's romantic partner or boyfriend
11
3.0
The person you love and share your life with
4
3.9
A person you live with in a long-term romantic relationship but are not married to
1
9.4
A casual name for a person you date, often a girlfriend
A person who lives with someone as a couple without being married
A person you live with and have a long committed relationship like a husband or wife
A person who lives with a romantic partner without being married
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'significant' (important) and 'other' (another person) make it plausible to infer 'an important other person', so some sense of the phrase is compositional. However, the specific sense 'long-term romantic/sexual partner' is a conventionalized, culturally specific nuance that a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not reliably derive, making it only partially predictable.
Etymology
Significant other joins significant (meaning important) and other (the other person in your life). It was used as a neutral, polite label instead of 'husband', 'wife', or 'partner', so today it means the person you have a long-term romantic relationship with.