betrothed
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of betrothed
Explanation
Betrothed means "formally engaged." If you are betrothed, then, congratulations! As they say in the song, you’re going to the chapel — you’re going to get married. Betrothed came into English through a combination of bi-, or "thoroughly," and treowðe, the Old English word for "truth, a pledge." If you are betrothed, you are completely and formally pledged to someone. Betrothed has a slightly more old fashioned and formal feel than its synonym engaged, but both describe people who are between "Will you marry me?" and "I do."
Vocabulary lists containing betrothed
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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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.
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
Was he supposed to be betrothed to him forever, and be a mantlepiece for folk music until his death?
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2024
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
The year after she married, Andrej was betrothed to a clerk’s daughter; he later married her and became a Lutheran priest.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
Maggie pushed him away until she heard the words, “the betrothed wife of Dr. Kane.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
