1
as in boyfriend
a male romantic companion
a romanticized portrait of a bygone era of beauteous Southern belles and their gallant swains
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2
as in lover
a man who courts a woman usually with the goal of marrying her
Grandma claims that she had several swains pursuing her, but it was only Grandpa who won her heart
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Examples of swain in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The British actor finds the humor and sensitivity in his lustful swain, and his mellifluous voice is perfectly matched to Shakespeare’s prose.
—
Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Odette is a shape-shifter, from woman to swan, under sorcerer Rothbart’s spell, only to be broken when a swain pledges true love to her—Siegfried to the rescue.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
He’s never outgrown the image of himself as the swain, the young lover.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Kramer, once again showing infinite tact, dissuaded the swain.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2023
Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return for the fourth time as ace archer Everdeen and her pair of devoted swains, director Francis Lawrence is back for his third film, and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong mark this as their second effort.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
The old residents remember when San Luis Rey was the second locality in the county, and the feast of San Luis (26th August) was an important epoch, with it, carreras and bades, forming the chief topic of conversation with dusky swain and maiden for miles around.
—Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2021
The hustling, athletic girl will forget the links and make sheep’s eyes at her amorous swain.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2022
Torn between two possible husbands, Ali Hakim (Benj Mirman), the peddler who enjoys playing the field, and Will Parker (Hennessy Winkler), the simple-minded swain desperate to marry her, Sis’ Ado Annie ricochets like a slippery pinball.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2022
Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
Odette is a shape-shifter, from woman to swan, under sorcerer Rothbart’s spell, only to be broken when a swain pledges true love to her—Siegfried to the rescue.
—Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
He’s never outgrown the image of himself as the swain, the young lover.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Kramer, once again showing infinite tact, dissuaded the swain.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2023
Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return for the fourth time as ace archer Everdeen and her pair of devoted swains, director Francis Lawrence is back for his third film, and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong mark this as their second effort.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
The old residents remember when San Luis Rey was the second locality in the county, and the feast of San Luis (26th August) was an important epoch, with it, carreras and bades, forming the chief topic of conversation with dusky swain and maiden for miles around.
—Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2021
The hustling, athletic girl will forget the links and make sheep’s eyes at her amorous swain.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2022
Torn between two possible husbands, Ali Hakim (Benj Mirman), the peddler who enjoys playing the field, and Will Parker (Hennessy Winkler), the simple-minded swain desperate to marry her, Sis’ Ado Annie ricochets like a slippery pinball.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Swain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swain. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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