fiancé

American  

[fee-ahn-sey, fee-ahn-sey] / ˌfi ɑnˈseɪ, fiˈɑn seɪ /

Or fiance

noun

1. a man engaged to be married.

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fiancé British  

/ fɪˈɒnseɪ /

noun

1. a man who is engaged to be married

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Gender

See fiancée.

Etymology

Origin of fiancé

First recorded in 1850–55; from French: “betrothed,” past participle of fiancer, Old French fiancier, verbal derivative of fiance “a promise,” equivalent to fi(er) “to trust” (from unattested Vulgar Latin fīdāre, Latin fīdere ) + -ance noun suffix; see -ance, -ee

Explanation

The minute you get down on one knee and ask a man to marry you — assuming he says "yes" — he becomes your fiancé, or the man you are engaged to marry. Fiancé comes from French; in fact, it is so French that it even has masculine and feminine versions (like many nouns in French). If you're talking about a woman, you would call her a fiancée rather than a fiancé, which is used only to refer to men. The Latin root of fiancé, which is spelled the same way, means "a promise," so you can think of becoming someone's fiance as a promise you're making to go through with the marriage.

Example Sentences

Lady Gaga mused about writing songs inspired by her fiancé.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Haylie Duff has split from her fiancé, Matt Rosenberg, 12 years after the former couple announced they were engaged—and six years after they relocated their family from California to the actress’s home state of Texas.

From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026

Daniela’s fiancé, Holden Karnofsky, also lived in the group house.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Bernice spends a lot of time trying to perfect a Charlotte Russe for her fiancé.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Muhammad takes no notice, probably reveling in being called her fiancé.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• affianced
• affianced person
• betrothed
• engaged person
• future mate
• groom-to-be
• husband-to-be
• intended
• prospective spouse