1
as in boyfriend
a male romantic companion
a romanticized portrait of a bygone era of beauteous Southern belles and their gallant swains
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2
as in lover
a man who courts a woman usually with the goal of marrying her
Grandma claims that she had several swains pursuing her, but it was only Grandpa who won her heart
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swain
Justyn Gonzalez and Alexandra Young share enjoyable comedy charm as a fumbling swain and the snappy-retorting object of his affections.
—
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 12 May 2026
Similar to the Broadway musical, the new movie ends with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and her strawman swain Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) walking into the sunset away from Oz, after the revelation that Elphaba staged her own melting death by hiding under a trapdoor.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 22 Nov. 2025
As the two lovers, Robin Wright as the comely princess and Cary Elwes as her loving swain are engaging and appealing.
—Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
But in the new film, the unnamed swain has been replaced by a Robin Hood-style heartthrob named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who leads a defiant group of bandits that steals from the monarchy and gives to the poor.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Science emerges as a version of the pastoral, with the physicist as swain.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Odette is a shape-shifter, from woman to swan, under sorcerer Rothbart’s spell, only to be broken when a swain pledges true love to her—Siegfried to the rescue.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 12 May 2026
Similar to the Broadway musical, the new movie ends with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and her strawman swain Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) walking into the sunset away from Oz, after the revelation that Elphaba staged her own melting death by hiding under a trapdoor.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 22 Nov. 2025
As the two lovers, Robin Wright as the comely princess and Cary Elwes as her loving swain are engaging and appealing.
—Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
But in the new film, the unnamed swain has been replaced by a Robin Hood-style heartthrob named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who leads a defiant group of bandits that steals from the monarchy and gives to the poor.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Science emerges as a version of the pastoral, with the physicist as swain.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Odette is a shape-shifter, from woman to swan, under sorcerer Rothbart’s spell, only to be broken when a swain pledges true love to her—Siegfried to the rescue.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swain
Noun
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The screenplay grows more complex and rewarding as the central relationship weakens, effectively forcing Sonya to deal with her exhausting boyfriend (Levon Hawke) and pushing Coley to connect with her father who, for whatever reason, spends a lot of time hand-making turquoise jewelry.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
16 June 2026
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Some of the biggest Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders fans are their boyfriends and husbands.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Itineraries guide food-lovers to Breyðvirkið, the Faroe Islands’ sole artisanal sourdough bakery, renowned for its exceptional coffee and its ‘BMO’ (bolle med ost), a classic Scandinavian breakfast of a fresh sourdough bun with butter and cheese.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
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These thin sheets of lead containing scratches of supernatural desires were used to sway a court case, target a rival, or even a lover, as per Archaeology News.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
20 June 2026
Noun
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Camila Cabello has split from her billionaire beau, according to widespread media reports.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
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The duo became Instagram official in December, when Perry posted a collection of photos and videos from her time in Tokyo, which included quality time with her beau.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Beyond his cachet, which reportedly attracted other suitors like the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 61-year-old Laviolette has long employed a forward-thinking, engaging and offensively aggressive style.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
11 June 2026
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Combine that with White having just spent two months inside the building, and any advantage that other suitors normally lean on basically disappears.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 June 2026
Noun
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And now the dream is finally here, and everyone is ready to take it, including me and all the other boys.—
Loureen Ayyoub,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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There was a picture of a little redheaded boy wearing a blue T-shirt; further down, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack.—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Patrick Eddington, a senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, says giving police this capability magnifies its potential problems.—
Meg Anderson,
NPR,
19 June 2026
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Darren McKnight, a senior technical fellow at the orbital intelligence company LeoLabs, told Ars the fragmentation event likely generated 100 to 150 pieces of debris.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
19 June 2026
Noun
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The murder case is still pending against Christopher Kegan Williams, a Sacramento County man who is accused of providing fentanyl that led to the September 2020 death of 20-year-old Spencer Newsom in Roseville.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
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This game's star man is no doubt Mohammed Al-Owais, who produced the best goalkeeping performance of this World Cup thus far.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swain. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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