inamorata

American  

[in-am-uh-rah-tuh, in-am-] / ɪnˌæm əˈrɑ tə, ˌɪn æm- /

noun

inamoratas plural

1. a woman who loves or is loved; female sweetheart or lover.

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inamorata British  

/ ɪnˌæməˈrɑːtə, ˌɪnæmə- /

noun

1. a woman with whom one is in love; a female lover

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• inamoratas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of inamorata

1645–55; < Italian innamorata (feminine); see inamorato

Explanation

If you want to sound a little old-fashioned, you might refer to your girlfriend as your inamorata. A woman you love in a romantic way is your inamorata, although it's not a very common term these days. It would be a little startling if your friend said, "I'd like to introduce you to my inamorata," though you'd know he meant "the woman I love." The male version of an inamorata is inamorato, which is even more rarely used. Both words come from the Italian innamorare, "to fall in love."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inamorata inamoratas

“Children of a Lesser God,” in which a teacher at a school for the deaf trains his inamorata to speak, made a brief return to Broadway, with a mixed-race cast.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 17, 2018

That would be the same crazed, cuckolded Cardenio whom Don Quixote met in Chapter 23 of the novel, then helped reunite with his inamorata a hundred pages later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2016

An earlier example of such presidential kibitzing, the Times notes, involved David Petraeus, the former CIA director who shared classified information with his inamorata.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2015

He expanded his brand with Catfish: The TV Series, an MTV reality show in which young people get Schulman and his friend/co-host Max Joseph to investigate their various sketchy inamorata.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2014

He recognized the attitude in the community occupied by his inamorata and himself, not merely toward each other but with relation to all the outside world, and he conducted himself accordingly.

From The Cassowary What Chanced in the Cleft Mountains by Waterloo, Stanley

A visit from Cecily, accompanied by one of her inamoratas, riveted Harrison: The couple dressed alike in black, shared a single seat at the dinner table and ate from a single plate.

From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2018

Fernanda Rohd and Melody Hollis suggest opposite sides of the same essential coin as two very different inamoratas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2016

I ask when he notes that many of his inamoratas have developed careers off the sheen of his celebrity.

From Forbes ● Oct. 18, 2012

With their attentions fast on their new inamoratas, the professional couple toss each other about, stand on chairs and pianos, recline on couches while giving an impromptu rehearsal of their new vehicle.

From Time Magazine Archive

Before long he planned to escape, and, having arranged everything with the hotel porter, he departed without leaving any address, but not without having first locked this most wearisome of inamoratas up in her room.

From The Magnificent Montez From Courtesan to Convert by Wyndham, Horace