philander

American

[fi-lan-der] / fɪˈlæn dər /

verb (used without object)

(especially of a man) to have many casual sexual encounters or affairs, especially when married or in a committed relationship.

Synonyms:

womanize, dally, trifle

philander British

/ fɪˈlændə /

verb

(of a man) to flirt with women

"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

philanderer noun
philandering noun

Etymology

Origin of philander

First recorded in 1675–85; from Greek phílandros “one who loves” (of a woman, loving her husband); philo-, andro-; later used in fiction as a proper name for a lover, and apparently mistaken as “a man who loves”

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