paramour

noun par·amour \ ˈper-ə-ˌmu̇r , ˈpa-rə- \

|Updated on: 25 Jul 2018

Examples: paramour in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of paramour

: lover; specifically : an illicit or secret lover

a married man and his paramour

Her account put him in the position of looking like the duped lover believing the cheating married paramour's protestation of love …
—Bettina Drew

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See paramour defined for kids

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

That exoneration, that change in language, actually appears to be the insurance policy that Peter Strzok was talking about with Lisa Page, his paramour, in those text messages.

— Fox News, "Questions remain after Wray and Horowitz testify," 19 June 2018
Potomac Watch Podcast Potomac Watch Podcast One initial batch of documents contained an Oct. 11, 2016 text message from FBI official Peter Strzok to his FBI paramour Lisa Page.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "The FBI’s Document Blackouts," 13 June 2018
When the paramours earn their living by faking emotion, getting down to the real deal can take some time.

— sarah dunn, New York Times, "Two Novels on the Complexities of Revisiting Past Loves," 1 June 2018
The official trailer for Creed II’s dropped this morning, featuring shots of the Philadelphia skyline and Laurel Hill Cemetery (where Rocky paramour Adrian is buried).

— claire wolters, Philly.com, "Watch: First trailer for 'Creed II' released," 20 June 2018
Personalized attacks, NDAs, threats and money may work for small jobs like disposing of business partners or quieting chatty paramours.

— nina burleigh, Newsweek, "Trump vs. Mueller: Is the American Legal System Any Match for the President?," 8 Mar. 2018
Her paramour is hard as nails (his definition of mercy is handing a man a gun with a single bullet before locking him in a train compartment and setting it loose from the main locomotive).

— refinery29.com, "Westworld Season 2, Episode 6 Recap: "Hello, Old Friend"," 28 May 2018
She and her paramour and boating partner (Sam Claflin) get caught in a hurricane and face long odds navigating to safety after the ensuing injuries and damage.

— ben kenigsberg, New York Times, "Summer 2018 Movie Release Schedule," 4 May 2018
In one of the loveliest scenes of Book Club, the newest addition to the Diane Keaton oeuvre, our beloved matriarch sits across from her dashing pilot paramour (Andy Garcia) as the two dine with the hilariously CGI-ed Santa Monica sunset behind them.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "Actually, Kissing Is Good," 25 May 2018

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.