Dear John
Americannoun
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a letter from a woman informing her boyfriend or fiancé that she is ending their relationship or informing her husband that she wants a divorce.
Nothing is worse for a soldier's morale than getting a Dear John.
-
any letter terminating a relationship.
Etymology
Origin of Dear John
First recorded in 1940–45
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.
On this record, “Red Eye Flight” could be a goodbye to a lover, or it could be a Dear John letter to addiction.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2025
But not long after Mr. Angeloni opened his account, he got his own Dear John letter.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
Supporters of the kakariki karaka - a green parakeet - put up billboards reading: "Dear John, don't disrupt the pecking order".
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2023
Did anybody else find it terribly coincidental that Urban Meyer got a Dear John letter from the Jaguars on college football’s National Letter of Intent Day?
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
I had been right about her writing him a Dear John letter, and it really messed him up.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
