philander
verb
phi·lan·der
fə-ˈlan-dər 
philandered; philandering
fə-ˈlan-d(ə-)riŋ
: to have casual or illicit sex with a person or with many people
especially
: to be sexually unfaithful to one's spouse
—usually used of a man
… her philandering brother-in-law; and … the schoolteacher he philanders with. —
Judith Crist
Judith Crist Examples of philander in a Sentence
he can't seem to stop philandering, even now that he's on his fifth marriage
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2022, Austrian director Marie Kreutzer released Corsage, the excellent feminist re-reading of the life of 19th century Empress Elizabeth, known as Sissi, with Vicki Krieps as the eccentric, anorexic empress and Florian Teichtmeister as her philandering husband, Franz Joseph I.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2026
The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The 1977 Social Security Amendments: Congress must have heard women complaining that having to be married to some philandering jerk for 20 years to get some of his Social Security was too long.
—Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for philander
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff.
—Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2026
The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The 1977 Social Security Amendments: Congress must have heard women complaining that having to be married to some philandering jerk for 20 years to get some of his Social Security was too long.
—Tom Margenau, Dallas Morning News, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for philander
Cite this Entry
“Philander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philander. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
philander
verb
phi·lan·der
fə-ˈlan-dər
philandered; philandering
-d(ə-)riŋ
: to be sexually unfaithful to one's wife
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
