Definition of LOTHARIO

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Lothario comes from The Fair Penitent (1703), a tragedy by Nicholas Rowe. In the play, Lothario is a notorious seducer, extremely attractive but beneath his charming exterior a haughty and unfeeling scoundrel. 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 since the 18th century the word lothario has been used for a foppish, unscrupulous rake.

Examples of lothario in a Sentence

a novel about the loveless existence of an aging lothario

Recent Examples on the Web

That would include, especially, Esther’s disastrous dates with Manhattan’s would-be lotharios and the elegant Ladies’ Day banquet that fells all the magazine’s interns with food poisoning. — Megan Abbott, WSJ, "Five Best: Megan Abbott on Novels About Female Friendship," 9 Aug. 2018 The maladjusted lothario also has many a dalliance with a particular strain of misogyny: the cutting and manipulative digs at past lovers that some of the rapper’s fans rush to freebase. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, "The Cathartic Symphony of Future’s Beast Mode 2," 6 July 2018 Shrouded in a digital blue, nobody looks entirely comfortable, but Dylan is all-in with the lothario bit. — Morgan Enos, Billboard, "Bob Dylan's Whiskey & 6 Other Times He Entered the Marketplace," 30 Apr. 2018 For his sophomore album, Memories Don't Die, the hip-hop lothario places love in the backseat in order to obliterate his verses. — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, "Tory Lanez on His New Album 'Memories Don't Die,' Potential Joint Project With Meek Mill & Why 50 Cent Is His Mentor," 5 Mar. 2018 All of the acting performances are exceptional (particularly Paula Newsome as a detective on whom Winkler's Cousineau has his lothario eyes). — Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Barry': TV Review | SXSW 2018," 10 Mar. 2018 Among the hotel's denizens is Tully (Paul Alexander Nolan), the charming lothario entertainer who specializes in bedding female hotel guests and bidding them farewell a week later with no ties or regrets. — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Escape to Margaritaville': Theater Review," 16 Mar. 2018 Six months ago, a Texas art museum put on a cheeky exhibit about the legendary Italian lothario. — BostonGlobe.com, "In sex trade debate, everything old is new again," 10 Mar. 2018 There’s Uncle Vili, a con man and lothario, and Aunt Flora, who ends up by herself in an attic in Venice. — WSJ, "Five Best: Michael Frank," 11 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lothario.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.