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
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But in the new film, the unnamed swain has been replaced by a Robin Hood-style heartthrob named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who leads a defiant group of bandits that steals from the monarchy and gives to the poor.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
Kramer, once again showing infinite tact, dissuaded the swain.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2023
Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return for the fourth time as ace archer Everdeen and her pair of devoted swains, director Francis Lawrence is back for his third film, and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong mark this as their second effort.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
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But in the new film, the unnamed swain has been replaced by a Robin Hood-style heartthrob named Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who leads a defiant group of bandits that steals from the monarchy and gives to the poor.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
Kramer, once again showing infinite tact, dissuaded the swain.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2023
Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return for the fourth time as ace archer Everdeen and her pair of devoted swains, director Francis Lawrence is back for his third film, and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong mark this as their second effort.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swain
Noun
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In a confessional, V tells us that her decision to pursue a career as a stew rather than as a deckhand had to do with the fact that being on deck reminded her too much of her late boyfriend, Beau, who died in the ocean.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
21 Oct. 2025
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In Germany, every day, one woman is being murdered by her husband, boyfriend, whatever.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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More than 50 cats were submitted for The Star’s cutest cat contest, from tortoiseshells to Birman cats and everything in between — and your submissions have definitely stolen the hearts of the cat lovers in our newsroom.—
Eden Dinneen,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
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Fried chicken lovers visiting a Popeyes drive-thru in Florida were unwittingly paying a prison inmate’s commissary fees, according to investigators.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ever since the pop megastar appeared at a Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023 to root on her new beau, tight end Travis Kelce, NFL viewership among young women has skyrocketed.—
Jennifer Halper,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
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Tran, who was previously linked romantically to Chris Brown and Robert Kardashian, walked hand-in-hand with her beau as nurses wheeled him to the operating room.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Baleba, after a troubled start to his season following United’s interest during the transfer window, had a good game against Newcastle last time out, and his performance in front of his suitors could impact their intentions next summer.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Other suitors could be in the wings.—
Footwear News,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The psychological drama follows a socially awkward 12-year-old who is relentlessly bullied at an all-boy water polo camp.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
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Robbie complicates his situation that much more after taking home Sam (Ben Doherty), a boy whose father is killed by Robbie's crew during a botched robbery.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ohtani also had the motivation of matching his fellow Dodgers starters, who have been phenomenal on the mound ever since the playoff race got serious.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
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Center for Renewing America fellows had written two more chapters in the report.—
Andy Kroll,
ProPublica,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Fabian Hurzeler’s team have had their best matches in this respect against Manchester City in August and 10-man Chelsea in September, converting five of seven big chances across both wins.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swain. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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