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widowed

American  
[wid-ohd] / ˈwɪd oʊd /

adjective

  1. having lost one’s spouse to death.

    The author has created a believably deluded narrator, a popular high school senior who plays football and lives with his widowed father.

noun

  1. Usually the widowed a person or persons who have lost a spouse to death.

    How do we offer strength and support to the aging, the widowed, the displaced, and others whose lives have been disrupted?

verb

  1. the simple past tense and past participle of widow.

Other Word Forms

  • unwidowed adjective

Etymology

Origin of widowed

widow ( def. ) + -ed 3 ( def. )

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.

Among Wonder Project’s recent shows is “It’s Not Like That,” a romance starring Scott Foley as a widowed pastor who falls for a divorced woman played by Erinn Hayes.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

My widowed mother decided to remarry, and she chose a lovely man whose family has a history of remarkable longevity.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026

The majority of those fathers were divorced, separated, or widowed.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

More recently, she portrayed ousted studio head turned film producer Patty Leigh in the Apple TV comedy “The Studio” as well as widowed therapist Gail in HBO’s survival drama “The Last of Us.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

He didn’t mention Jean, the widowed schoolteacher’s daughter.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry

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.