philander

verb

phi·​lan·​der fə-ˈlan-dər 

philandered; philandering fə-ˈlan-d(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

: to have casual or illicit sex with a person or with many people

especially : to be sexually unfaithful to one's spouse

—usually used of a man

… her philandering brother-in-law; and … the schoolteacher he philanders with.

—Judith Crist

Synonyms

• cheat
• screw around
• step out

Examples of philander in a Sentence

he can't seem to stop philandering, even now that he's on his fifth marriage

Recent Examples on the Web

In portraying Clarice, who forgoes a career as a classical pianist to raise a family with her philandering husband, Richmond (Russell Hornsby), Aduba learned a valuable lesson. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Aug. 2024

Columnist — and birder — Ted Johnson shares the story of the philandering backyard blue jay who delivered a lesson on life. —Drew Goins, Washington Post, 31 July 2024

The Swans Fashion: Babe Paley’s Queen Bee Elegance Photo: Courtesy of FX Before marrying the chronically philandering head of CBS, Bill Paley (Treat Williams), in 1947, Babe Cushing worked as a Vogue editor. —Fawnia Soo Hoo, refinery29.com, 31 Jan. 2024

Maxine’s allies are a gay pool boy (Ricky Martin), her (philandering) airline pilot husband (Josh Lucas) and his aunt, who at one point pushes her off a yacht in the middle of the ocean. —Jordan Riefe, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

from obsolete philander lover, philanderer, probably from the name Philander

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

philander

verb

phi·​lan·​der fə-ˈlan-dər 

philandered; philandering -d(ə-)riŋ 

: to be sexually unfaithful to one's wife

philanderer

-dər-ər 

noun