philandering

verb

present participle of philander
as in cheating
to be sexually unfaithful he can't seem to stop philandering, even now that he's on his fifth marriage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of philandering At the time, Krasner was in Europe, distancing herself from her husband’s drinking and philandering. — John Yau, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2026 His character Rupert, Rebecca’s vindictive and philandering former husband who lost Richmond to her in the divorce, was the original three-season installment’s main antagonist. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026 More than 20 years later, a middle-aged Ash Williams spends his days drinking, philandering, and working that same dead-end job. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 10 July 2026 One was Buck Strickland, Hank Hill’s philandering boss, who has many of LBJ’s characteristics including carrying on conversations while on the toilet. — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026 About deluded coaches and philandering teammates and practice-field punch-ups. — Leander Schaerlaeckens june 8, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026 Specifically by unpacking Yasmin’s issues with her philandering father. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 8 June 2026 Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff. — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2026 The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for philandering
cheating
Verb
  • The attack on Hugging Face was then part of an elaborate attempt to evade being caught cheating.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Educators raise concerns about cognitive offloading and easy access to cheating.
    — Kiryn Hoffman, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheating

Browse Nearby Words

philanderers
philandering
philanders
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Philandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/philandering. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All