suitor

noun

ˈsü-tər How to pronounce suitor (audio)
Definition of suitornext
1
as in boyfriend
a man who courts a woman usually with the goal of marrying her my sister finally married her suitor of six years on Sunday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in solicitor
one who asks earnestly for a favor or gift the inventor had several suitors for his patent, but he wasn't interested in dealing with a big company

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of suitor The Hollywood giants spent much of early 2026 in a heated back-and-forth over who had a stronger offer on the table, with Warner leadership repeatedly backing Netflix as its preferred suitor. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Her widowed aunt plays chaperone as Susanna attends heady lectures and repulses her many suitors. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026 At the time, James was still considering his free-agency options amid interest from numerous suitors. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026 She’s also lost in the memories of her heady youth, spent reclining in the sun and talking of politics and social concerns with various friends, lovers, and would-be suitors. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for suitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suitor
  1. boyfriend
  2. solicitor
  3. lover
  4. beggar
  5. man
  6. petitioner
  7. fellow
  8. suppliant
Noun
  • An ex-boyfriend, now platonic pal (Eric Lynch) at the (fictional) Chicago Herald offers her an assignment of profiling a Bears superfan, Darlene Donnelly (Marsha Mason).
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Jordan’s mother, after being killed by her boyfriend and stuffed in a duffel bag, had been funeralized at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of boyfriend
Noun
  • The report describes aggressive tactics in which hordes of solicitors sit on the phones all day, calling people to get them to refinance.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Others convicted in relation to the robbery included Brian Reader, a career criminal who was involved in other high-profile robberies before and after Brink’s-Mat, crooked solicitor Michael Relton, and McAvoy’s wife, Kathleen.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of solicitor
Noun
  • Overton, however, claimed that both informants were lying — and that the semen found on the comforter was planted on the scene by a spurned ex-lover with connections to the police department.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The professionalization worked, but at the expense of the site’s internal culture, Cooke argues, as generous eccentrics were displaced by neurotic lovers of rules.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of lover
Noun
  • Dhaka’s rundown streets peppered with the homeless, vendors and child beggars.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of beggar
Noun
  • Russian authorities accused the Michigan man of signing a contract with Ukraine’s military in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
    — Olivia-Anne Cleary, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The plight of his followers began to emerge in mid-March 2023, when a local man told police that his brother and wife had starved their children to death in the forest on Mackenzie's orders.
    — Jefferson Kahinju Reuters, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of man
Noun
  • Unlike an appeal, the post-conviction process allows a petitioner to introduce new information, such as new allegations or evidence that their attorney coerced or threatened them.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2026
  • To qualify a referendum for the ballot, petitioners must collect a number of signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last mayoral election.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of petitioner
Noun
  • During Thursday's protest, hundreds of resident physicians and fellows demanded negotiators return to the bargaining table.
    — Payton May, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Simpson, whose daughter is in second grade, prepared extensively with her fellow-canvassers on how to discuss certain topics, such as Mamdani’s views on Israel and Palestine.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of fellow
Noun
  • And as happens with the testimonies of the suppliants at the Asclepieion, the stelae ferry the feelings and names of these distant others across the ages to us.
    — Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
  • It was thought that Betelgeuse was bigger than the orbit of Jupiter in our Solar System, but recent studies suggest that the red suppliant star is about a third less than that at about 750 the radius of our Sun.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 June 2021
Definition of suppliant

Browse Nearby Words

suiting
suitor
suitors
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Suitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suitor. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All