lover

[ luhv-er ]

/ ˈlʌv ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lover ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is in love with another.

a person who has a sexual or romantic relationship with another.

a person with whom one conducts an extramarital sexual affair.

a person who has a strong enjoyment or liking for something, as specified: a lover of music.

a person who loves, especially a person who has or shows a warm and general affectionate regard for others: a lover of mankind.

Nearby words

lovelock, lovelonging, lovelorn, lovely, lovemaking, lover, lover's knot, lover's leap, lover, samuel, loverly, lovers' lane

Origin of lover

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at love, -er¹

SYNONYMS FOR lover

4 devotee, enthusiast, fan.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lover ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formslov·er·less, adjectivelov·er·like, adjectivenon·lov·er, noun

Can be confusedlouver Louvre lover

Definition for lover (2 of 2)

Lover

[ luhv-er ]

/ ˈlʌv ər /

noun

Samuel,1797–1868, Irish novelist, painter, and songwriter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lover

But there are a lot of women who go to these places and once they go to the inside, they find a lover.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is a love quite distinct from that of a lover, with whom we fall in love, in part, because they are free and have a choice.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The long-nosed, self-described “little New York lover of photography” has embraced the impact his pictures can make.
From Fashion Player to Photographer Monk|Nina Strochlic|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beacci, who had inherited nothing from her lover, had assumed his son would make provisions for her in his will.
In Tussle Over Will, Mistress’s Family Takes a Bite Out of NYU|Anthony Haden-Guest|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

How about the man who created her—a lover of women who lived with a wife, his lover, their children, and a wayward librarian?
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine|Tom Arnold-Forster|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mary had contrived to quiet her lover with considerable propriety of demeanour.
Doctor Thorne|Anthony Trollope
Charlotte was as loyal as her mother; she did not like it if even her lover intimated anything in disfavor of her father.
Pembroke|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
A resolve fixed itself at once in her heart; to greet her lover the instant he arrived.
The Daughter of a Magnate|Frank H. Spearman
And the more he brooded, the more certain he became that she had a lover—her words, 'I would sooner die!'
The Forsyte Saga, Complete|John Galsworthy
I shall continue to think of you as my wife according to the law of nature, and of the man who has come between us as your lover.
The Eternal City|Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for lover

lover

/ (ˈlʌvə) /

noun

a person, now esp a man, who has an extramarital or premarital sexual relationship with another person

(often plural) either of the two people involved in a love affair

someone who loves a specified person or thinga lover of music
(in combination)a music-lover; a cat-lover

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lover

lover

early 13c., agent noun from love (v.). Old English had lufend for male lovers, lufestre for women. Meaning "one who has a predilection for" (a thing, concept, pursuit, etc.) is mid-14c. As a form of address to a lover, from 1911. Related: Loverly.

lover

noun

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Origin of lover

Definition for lover (2 of 2)

Lover

noun

Examples from the Web for lover

British Dictionary definitions for lover

lover

noun

Word Origin and History for lover

lover