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.
-
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.
But not long after Mr. Angeloni opened his account, he got his own Dear John letter.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
"Dear John" is like a handwritten personal note to Mayer.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 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
I had been right about her writing him a Dear John letter, and it really messed him up.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
