lothario

noun

lo·​thar·​io lō-ˈther-ē-ˌō  -ˈthär- 

plural lotharios

often capitalized

: a man whose chief interest is seducing women

Did you know?

Lothario comes from The Fair Penitent (1703), a tragedy by Nicholas Rowe. In the play, Lothario is a notorious seducer, extremely attractive but a haughty and unfeeling scoundrel beneath his charming exterior. He seduces Calista, an unfaithful wife and later the fair penitent of the title. After the play was published, the character of Lothario became a stock figure in English literature. For example, Samuel Richardson modeled the character of Lovelace on Lothario in his 1748 novel Clarissa. As the character became well known, his name became progressively more generic, and lothario (often capitalized) has since been used to describe a foppish, unscrupulous rake.

Synonyms

• Casanova
• Don Juan
• lecher
• lounge lizard
• masher
• philanderer
• satyr
• wolf
• womanizer

Examples of lothario in a Sentence

a novel about the loveless existence of an aging lothario

Recent Examples on the Web

Honestly, what could be more French than a pastry chef who is also a lothario who is also a writer who is also a spy? —Emily Temple march 28, Literary Hub, 28 Mar. 2025

And now the unlikely Hollywood lothario is at again, and taking his talents to Palm Beach. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025

Then there was Barney Stinson, the philandering lothario ultimately brought to life by Neil Patrick Harris. —Victoria Edel, People.com, 18 Mar. 2025

Yet modernizing the martini-loving lothario too much poses its own issues. —Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Lothario, seducer in the play The Fair Penitent (1703) by Nicholas Rowe

First Known Use

1756, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lothario

• barrio

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