lothario

noun

lo·​thar·​io lō-ˈther-ē-ˌō  -ˈthär- 

variants often Lothario

plural lotharios

: 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 of lothario

• womanizer
• lover

Examples of lothario in a Sentence

a novel about the loveless existence of an aging lothario

Recent Examples on the Web

Although Jones takes responsibility for the hurt and dysfunction his compulsive tomcatting caused, the legendary lothario details his conquests with barely disguised glee. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026

David Cassidy and Olivia d‘Abo star as among the visitors from the future; Leif Garrett (like Cassidy, a 1970s TV and pop idol) is a disco-mad lothario. — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026

In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026

Or where LaKeith Stanfield, as an elusive local lothario, uses his legend-has-it oral sex skills to literally suck the souls out of women. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2026

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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