as in lovers
literary
a person with whom someone is having a romantic or sexual relationship and especially a secret or improper relationship
Her husband found a love letter from her paramour.
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Recent Examples of paramours
Clark and Floyd had initially bonded over the show’s namesake app, a means for married people to meet discreet new partners; Floyd, too, had met up with potential paramours like Modern Love (Peter Sarsgaard), the online pseudonym of a local roller rink owner.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
During the course of the film, Grace deals with life, love (including a pair of paramours from the same band), professional disappointments, and the fallout of a horrible experience from her past.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 Mar. 2026
Other unconfirmed paramours include A$AP Rocky, multiple NBA players, and, most recently, Bad Bunny.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The record is filled with sexy dance-pop bangers and finds Khalid — for the first time in his career — using he/him pronouns when discussing paramours in his lyrics.
—Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Once again, the Western canon’s most famous paramours have traded soliloquies for pointe shoes.
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Apr. 2023
Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
During the course of the film, Grace deals with life, love (including a pair of paramours from the same band), professional disappointments, and the fallout of a horrible experience from her past.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 Mar. 2026
Other unconfirmed paramours include A$AP Rocky, multiple NBA players, and, most recently, Bad Bunny.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The record is filled with sexy dance-pop bangers and finds Khalid — for the first time in his career — using he/him pronouns when discussing paramours in his lyrics.
—Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Once again, the Western canon’s most famous paramours have traded soliloquies for pointe shoes.
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paramours
Noun
-
Nature lovers with more time to explore may want to immerse themselves in the landscape by hiking, camping, and other outdoor pursuits, but others prefer to take in the beauty and timelessness in a more relaxed way.—
Patricia Doherty,
Travel + Leisure,
3 May 2026
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Made in response to a difficult breakup, the work alludes to two lovers parting ways, but also to Pau’s memories of isolation as a severely asthmatic child in a notoriously polluted city, lying in bed staring at the wall and inventing stories to distract herself from the difficulty of breathing.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Noun
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The trouble reportedly started when some of the party attendees started arguing with each other about their boyfriends, witness Jeremiah Braxton told The Associated Press.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
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There was a bit of screaming by girls, but the boyfriends who went along wanted to listen to the band.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Coaches can cheat on their wives with NFL insiders, players can beat their wives and girlfriends, and teams will still keep them around.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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There were also groups of girlfriends escaping New York for the summer and young couples.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The two friends have been going to the annual meeting off and on for roughly 15 years, leaving their husbands at home for a girls' trip to Omaha.—
Sarah Min,Yun Li,
CNBC,
1 May 2026
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Andy gets a decent if colorless new love interest (Patrick Brammall), who works as a real-estate contractor, and even Miranda has found stability and happiness with the latest of her many husbands (Kenneth Branagh).—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Former Islamic States fighters from multiple countries, along with their wives and children, were held in a network of camps and detention centers in northeast Syria after the militant group lost control of its territory in Syria in 2019.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 May 2026
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Harris uses Man’s three wives to allow an image to form very early, becoming highly unlikeable once viewers finally see him.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paramours.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paramours. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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