Definition of paramour
: an illicit lover
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Examples of paramour in a Sentence
And faster than you can say “You've got mail!” he fell hard for his unseen paramour. —Kipp Cheng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 1998
His Vietnamese paramour was a young woman of remarkable beauty. —Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988
As the vessel made sail immediately, and landed no part of their cargo, there seemed little doubt that they were accomplices of the notorious Robertson, and that the vessel had only come into the firth to carry off his paramour. —Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian, 1818
Recent Examples of paramour from the Web
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The extracurricular lovers notice a difference in their respective paramours.
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The idea here is that both spouses are cheating on the other — Mary’s lover is a tedious writer, husband Michael’s paramour (Melora Walters) is a needy ballet teacher — and that each thinks the other doesn’t know.
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If there’s no deception about the affair, and the paramour isn’t a potential foreign spy, there’s no vulnerability — or so the logic goes.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paramour'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Paramour came to English from French (a language based on Latin), though the modern French don't use the word. Since par amour meant "through love", it implies a relationship based solely on love, often physical love, rather than on social custom or ceremony. So today it tends to refer to the lover of a married man or woman, but may be used for any lover who isn't obeying the social rules.
Origin and Etymology of paramour
Middle English, from par amour for the sake of love, willingly, from Anglo-French par amur
First Known Use: 14th century
PARAMOUR Defined for English Language Learners
paramour
playDefinition of paramour for English Language Learners
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: a person with whom someone is having a romantic or sexual relationship and especially a secret or improper relationship
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