paramour
noun
Bettina Drew 
Did you know?
Paramour came to English from French (a language based on Latin), though the modern French don't use the word. Since par amour meant "through love", it implies a relationship based solely on love, often physical love, rather than on social custom or ceremony. So today it tends to refer to the lover of a married man or woman, but may be used for any lover who isn't obeying the social rules.
Examples of paramour in a Sentence
Kipp Cheng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 1998
His Vietnamese paramour was a young woman of remarkable beauty.
—Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988
As the vessel made sail immediately, and landed no part of their cargo, there seemed little doubt that they were accomplices of the notorious Robertson, and that the vessel had only come into the firth to carry off his paramour.
—Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian, 1818
USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024
Perhaps the most notable example of this attitude is from Grimes, the experimental musician unfairly best known as a former paramour of Elon Musk and mother to three of his children.
—Milan Kordestani, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2024
However, some critics thoroughly enjoyed Phillips’ fresh spin on the Joker and his paramour.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2024
Unaware they were being watched, Sherry Matthews dropped off her paramour in an alley between 17th and 18th Ave.
—Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for paramour 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paramour.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Paramour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramour. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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paramour
noun
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