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Showing results for lover. Search instead for Lovyer.
Synonyms

lover

1 American  
[luhv-er] / ˈlʌv ər /

noun

  1. a person who is in love with another.

  2. a person who has a sexual or romantic relationship with another.

  3. a person with whom one conducts an extramarital sexual affair.

  4. a person who has a strong enjoyment or liking for something, as specified.

    a lover of music.
    Synonyms:
    fan, enthusiast, devotee

  5. a person who loves, especially a person who has or shows a warm and general affectionate regard for others.

    a lover of humankind.
Lover 2 American  
[luhv-er] / ˈlʌv ər /

noun

  1. Samuel, 1797–1868, Irish novelist, painter, and songwriter.

lover British  
/ ˈlʌvə /

noun

  1. a person, now esp a man, who has an extramarital or premarital sexual relationship with another person

  2. (often plural) either of the two people involved in a love affair

    1. someone who loves a specified person or thing

      a lover of music

    2. ( in combination )

      a music-lover

      a cat-lover
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • loverless adjective
  • loverlike adjective
  • nonlover noun

Etymology

Origin of lover

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; love + -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On the following “Dopamine,” she frames her emotional experiences in purely biological terms, “tripping on our chemistry” with a new lover as she wonders if the feeling can be trusted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Raita has forever converted me into a savory yogurt lover.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

The latest original film from Disney's Pixar tells the story of a young animal lover who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can better communicate and protect wildlife.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

A lover of good food, he wrote and illustrated a cartoon cookery strip for the Daily Express, which transferred to The Observer in 1962.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

It was callous to have thrown her army-officer lover in his face like that, even if she did not feel the same way about him.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.