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; -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

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Despite the procedure, her health "was all over the place" in early 2024 following the death of her fiancé.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

My fiancé and I are planning to get married, buy property and start a family.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 31, 2026

Chimes in Gaga’s fiancé and creative partner, Michael Polansky: “John understands how personal all of this is for artists and leads with trust and respect, which means everything.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 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