Word
widower
Phoneticswid·ow·er
US/ˈwɪdoʊɝ/
UK/wˈɪdəʊɐ/
Definition
n. a man whose wife has died and who has not married again.
n. a man who has lost his spouse by death and has not remarried.
Examples
“The elderly widower lives alone in the house they once shared.”
“After his wife passed away last year, he became a widower and moved closer to his children for support.”
“The novel explores the quiet grief of a recent widower as he navigates the social expectations of his small community while maintaining his late wife's garden.”
Examples
simple
“The elderly widower lives alone in the house they once shared.”
contextual
“After his wife passed away last year, he became a widower and moved closer to his children for support.”
complex
“The novel explores the quiet grief of a recent widower as he navigates the social expectations of his small community while maintaining his late wife's garden.”
Usage
The masculine counterpart to 'widow'.
Pitfall
He is a widow
He is a widower
Learners often use the feminine form 'widow' for both genders, but 'widower' is specifically for men.
Etymology
From Middle English widwer, equivalent to widow + -er.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/widower