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.
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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.
In "Would've, Could've, Should've" which was written 12 years after the release of "Dear John," Swift is finally the age that her former boyfriend was when he dated her at 19.
From Salon • Sep. 17, 2023
Later that evening, he finally unearthed the bank’s Dear John letter: “Financial institutions have an obligation to know our customers and monitor transactions,” it said.
From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2023
He chose Dear John, sung by Eddi Reader but written by Kirsty MacColl about the end of her marriage.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2022
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
Dear John, listen, we both know it’s not working.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
