betroth
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betrothsimple
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betrothssimple
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have betrothedperfect
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has betrothedperfect
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am betrothingprogressive
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are betrothingprogressive
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is betrothingprogressive
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have been betrothingperfect progressive
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has been betrothingperfect progressive
Past
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betrothedsimple
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had betrothedperfect
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was betrothingprogressive
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were betrothingprogressive
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had been betrothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of betroth
1275–1325; Middle English betrouthe, variant of betreuthe ( be- be- + treuthe truth; see troth)
Explanation
The verb betroth means to give to in marriage. In the really olden days, your parents might betroth you to someone you barely knew and you'd be expected to marry this virtual stranger. Since arranged marriages are becoming more rare, betroth has taken on the more general meaning of pledging to be married. If your boyfriend says, "Want to get hitched?" and you say, "Excellent idea!" then you are betrothed. Betroth is from the Middle English word betreuthe, which itself is from the roots bi-, meaning "thoroughly," and trowthe, meaning "truth" or "pledge."
Vocabulary lists containing betroth
Novel Study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Acts 4–5
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Blood Water Paint
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"Duty" by Pamela Rafael Berkman
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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.
See Examples For:
Following her death from tuberculosis in 1847, he planned to betroth his first love, Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, in the same city.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2022
The most important decisions you make in this game are not military, but about to whom to betroth your children.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2012
Intoned the bride's father: "I betroth to Your Majesty my daughter, Farida."
From Time Magazine Archive
“And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever.”—Hosea ii. 19.
From The Faithful Promiser by Macduff, John R. (John Ross)
To this they agreed, and the princess said, “If you will betroth me to the man sitting on the top of the mast of the vessel in the harbour, I shall immediately regain my health.”
From Santal Folk Tales by Campbell, A.
Before she has time to complete her arrangements, however, Buondelmonte betroths himself to a daughter of the house of Amidei.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 01, No. 01, November, 1857 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics by Various
He betroths himself oftener to the devil in one day than Mecaenas did in a week to his wife, that he was married a thousand times to.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
Cressida betroths herself to Troilus, a son of Priam, and vows eternal fidelity.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham
Before the combat Lohengrin betroths himself to Elsa, naming only the condition that she shall never question him as to his name or race.
From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by Upton, George P. (George Putnam)
From that conjunction it can be seen how love or the will betroths to itself wisdom or the understanding, and afterwards weds it, that is, enters into a kind of marriage with it.
From Angelic Wisdom Concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom by Ager, John
The men, with their hands wrapped in satin white gloves, each held identical 14-karat gold rings for their betrothed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Sánchez has talents apart from her betrothed, too.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2025
Just months ago, Ashanti confirmed that she and the “Hot in Herre” rapper, 49, were betrothed and expecting their first child together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
You’ve surely seen these pictures: The newly betrothed couple walking back down the aisle, the bride and groom graciously taking in their champagne toasts, a few dizzying iPhone videos from a crowded dance floor.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2024
Alexander Helios, now betrothed to the daughter of the Median king, received Armenia and Media.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
X. When the time of betrothing is completed, the nuptials ought to take place.
From The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love by Swedenborg, Emanuel
The young Lords of Douglas came out looking brave and handsome as bridegrooms on a day of betrothing.
From The Black Douglas by Richards, Frank
In short, it was the betrothing day of the beauteous Faith and Fessel's new partner in business, master Dorn.
From Tales from the German. Volume II. The Lichtensteins, The Sorceress, The Anabaptist by Velde, Carl Franz van der
The custom of betrothing children in their infancy is commonly practised here, in which respect these people differ from the natives of Greenland, where it is comparatively rare.
From Journal of the Third Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage by Morley, Henry
Consent is to be secured and established by solemn betrothing, n.
From The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love by Swedenborg, Emanuel
Definitions 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.
