betroth
Americanverb (used with object)
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betroths,
present (3rd person singular)
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betrothed,
past participle, past
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betrothing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betrothsimple
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betrothssimple
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have betrothedperfect
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has betrothedperfect
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am betrothingprogressive
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are betrothingprogressive
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is betrothingprogressive
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have been betrothingperfect progressive
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has been betrothingperfect progressive
Past
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betrothedsimple
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had betrothedperfect
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was betrothingprogressive
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were betrothingprogressive
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had been betrothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of betroth
1275–1325; Middle English betrouthe, variant of betreuthe ( be- be- + treuthe truth; see troth)
Explanation
The verb betroth means to give to in marriage. In the really olden days, your parents might betroth you to someone you barely knew and you'd be expected to marry this virtual stranger. Since arranged marriages are becoming more rare, betroth has taken on the more general meaning of pledging to be married. If your boyfriend says, "Want to get hitched?" and you say, "Excellent idea!" then you are betrothed. Betroth is from the Middle English word betreuthe, which itself is from the roots bi-, meaning "thoroughly," and trowthe, meaning "truth" or "pledge."
Vocabulary lists containing betroth
Novel Study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Acts 4–5
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Blood Water Paint
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"Duty" by Pamela Rafael Berkman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Following her death from tuberculosis in 1847, he planned to betroth his first love, Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, in the same city.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2022
The most important decisions you make in this game are not military, but about to whom to betroth your children.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2012
Intoned the bride's father: "I betroth to Your Majesty my daughter, Farida."
From Time Magazine Archive
"And I betroth thee to Me in faithfulness, and thou knowest the Lord."
From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg
She believed that the King of France, instead of sending the promised proxy, had himself returned to betroth her at the approaching festival, when he would doubtless declare himself publicly.
From Romance of Roman Villas (The Renaissance) by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams) Champney
From that conjunction it can be seen how love or the will betroths to itself wisdom or the understanding, and afterwards weds it, that is, enters into a kind of marriage with it.
From Angelic Wisdom Concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom by John Ager
Before she has time to complete her arrangements, however, Buondelmonte betroths himself to a daughter of the house of Amidei.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 01, No. 01, November, 1857 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics by Various
Love betroths to itself wisdom by preparing for it a house or bridal chamber, and marries it by conjoining it to itself by affections, and afterwards lives wisely with it in that house.
From Angelic Wisdom Concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom by John Ager
He betroths himself oftener to the devil in one day than Mecaenas did in a week to his wife, that he was married a thousand times to.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
Uncle Starodúm makes acquaintance with Mílon, whose good qualities he has learned through an old friend, and betroths him to Sophia.
From A Survey of Russian Literature, with Selections by Isabel Florence Hapgood
Lee’s close friend Marina Hollyer announced the engagement news Wednesday on her Instagram stories, captioning a photo of the newly betrothed pair with the caption: “My best friend in the world just got engaged.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The men, with their hands wrapped in satin white gloves, each held identical 14-karat gold rings for their betrothed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Sánchez has talents apart from her betrothed, too.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2025
You’ve surely seen these pictures: The newly betrothed couple walking back down the aisle, the bride and groom graciously taking in their champagne toasts, a few dizzying iPhone videos from a crowded dance floor.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2024
"Joffrey is betrothed to Sansa Stark," Cersei objected.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
He made closer his ancient friendship with Guy of Dampierre, the old Count of Flanders, by betrothing Edward of Carnarvon to his daughter Philippine.
From The History of England From the Accession of Henry III. to the Death of Edward III. (1216-1377) by William Hunt
In short, it was the betrothing day of the beauteous Faith and Fessel's new partner in business, master Dorn.
From Tales from the German. Volume II. The Lichtensteins, The Sorceress, The Anabaptist by Carl Franz van der Velde
There was an unmistakable coolness visible in Mr. Clark's conduct towards him, but he readily understood why it was so, for after betrothing himself to his daughter he had disappeared mysteriously, and given no sign.
From The Boy Nihilist or, Young America in Russia by Allan Arnold
By betrothing, the mind of the one is united to the mind of the other, so as to effect a marriage of the spirit previous to a marriage of the body, n.
From The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love by Emanuel Swedenborg
Two things were, however, requisite as an introduction and preparation to marriage at Sparta, first, betrothing on the part of the father;1352 secondly, the seizure of the bride.
From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Karl Otfried Müller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
