uxorious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uxorious
1590–1600; < Latin ūxōrius, equivalent to ūxor wife + -ius -ious
Explanation
A man who dotes on or really adores his wife is uxorious. Your uxorious grandfather, for example, might plan your grandmother's surprise birthday party months in advance. Uxorious goes back to the Latin root ūxor, "wife," and it came into English in the 16th century. Uxorious is usually negative, a way to show that a husband has too much concern for his wife or is submissive to her desires. It's also an increasingly dated, old fashioned word, as a husband is considered uxorious if he lets his wife "control" him. There's no corresponding adjective you can use of a wife "controlled" by her husband.
Vocabulary lists containing uxorious
100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Paradise Lost
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Everything, Everything
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Pandaram, meanwhile, is an uxorious family man struggling to marry off a spoiled daughter, and the story turns on the scams and deceptions he faces in arranging her future.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
With insight and aplomb, Roberts completes his mission, revealing the king to have been a conventional, conservative gentleman, uxorious husband and father of 15.
From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2021
Hanks is famously uxorious, and his reliability as an actor is something that, from his first marriage at the age of 21, he has pegged to the stability of his home life.
From The Guardian • Oct. 14, 2017
King Charles wasn’t really all that Trump-like—he was uxorious and devoted to theology, and he assembled one of England’s greatest collections of art.
From The New Yorker • Feb. 2, 2017
He felt a flush of achievement, at how easily fiancée had slipped out of him, a sign of future uxorious bliss.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
