1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

swains

noun

plural of swain
1
as in boyfriends
a male romantic companion a romanticized portrait of a bygone era of beauteous Southern belles and their gallant swains

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in wooers
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of swains Between the romantic fantasy of Anna and her two swains, the swoony Tuscan locales bathed in creamy golden light, and the tomatoes, You, Me & Tuscany delivers everything its title promises. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swains
  1. boyfriends
  2. lovers
  3. beaux
  4. suitors
  5. boys
  6. fellows
  7. men
Noun
  • The tired, the sick, the hungry, the famous and tons of ex-boyfriends, all regretting their wrongs.
    — Courtney Love, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As well as the two ur-bad boyfriends from HBO’s Girls Christopher Abbott and Adam Driver who will portray, respectively, Professor Charles Xavier and Nathaniel Milbury/Mister Sinister.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of boyfriends
Noun
  • In Peru under dictatorship, two of three long-time lovers marry for appearances but flee from their conservative rural community for the capital after their secret is exposed by the third.
    — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Now, Sacramento is on the list of best cities for coffee lovers, according to a ranking of cafes nationwide.
    — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of lovers
Noun
  • So are their girlfriends and wives, who support their beaus in stadiums and at home.
    — Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Despite some very not-so-subtle hints from yours truly, my past beaus have never gifted me a handbag on Valentine’s Day, either.
    — Michelle Baricevic, InStyle, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of beaux
Noun
  • Had the Italian not claimed publicly that Richarlison wanted to leave, Spurs would have had a stronger hand in transfer talks with potential suitors and the player might have been more open to the club’s proposals.
    — Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Zoie, a dynamic forward and at 5-9 taller than her 5-5 fraternal twin Kai, had a longer list of Division I, Power 4 college suitors than her sister.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of suitors
Noun
  • Jenkins said sextortion is another significant concern that can impact children with law enforcement seeing particularly serious impacts among teen boys.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026
  • George is following in the footsteps of father Prince William and uncle Prince Harry, who also attended the boarding school for boys.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of boys
Noun
  • All five senior fellows are set to appear at an on-campus event Wednesday.
    — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The program would provide grants or enter into contracts with nonprofits to administer the legal fellows program under the California Department of Social Services.
    — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of fellows
Noun
  • Founder David Vargas coaches members — the gym is men-only — on everything from their diets to their relationships with their families.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Three years later, Wuornos began her killing spree, fatally shooting seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of men

Browse Nearby Words

swain
swains
swale
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Swains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swains. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All