swains

noun

plural of swain
1
as in boyfriends
a male romantic companion a romanticized portrait of a bygone era of beauteous Southern belles and their gallant swains

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in wooers
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 swains Between the romantic fantasy of Anna and her two swains, the swoony Tuscan locales bathed in creamy golden light, and the tomatoes, You, Me & Tuscany delivers everything its title promises. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swains
  1. boyfriends
  2. lovers
  3. beaux
  4. suitors
  5. boys
  6. fellows
  7. men
Noun
  • The tired, the sick, the hungry, the famous and tons of ex-boyfriends, all regretting their wrongs.
    — Courtney Love, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As well as the two ur-bad boyfriends from HBO’s Girls Christopher Abbott and Adam Driver who will portray, respectively, Professor Charles Xavier and Nathaniel Milbury/Mister Sinister.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of boyfriends
Noun
  • Board game lovers will soon be able to nerd out at a new store and may even get the chance to play a few rounds inside a former bank vault.
    — Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Instead, volumizing mascara lovers may just have found their new holy grail, particularly those who want volume without clumping.
    — Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of lovers
Noun
  • So are their girlfriends and wives, who support their beaus in stadiums and at home.
    — Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Despite some very not-so-subtle hints from yours truly, my past beaus have never gifted me a handbag on Valentine’s Day, either.
    — Michelle Baricevic, InStyle, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of beaux
Noun
  • Potential suitors would also naturally be looking at what the future holds for the entertainment business at large.
    — Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The Old Hollywood starlet received eight engagement rings from her suitors, as some of them opted to give her other jewelry in lieu of a ring.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of suitors
Noun
  • The boisterous, perhaps even hard-to-corral high school teenage boys would go silent.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Ryker Huther is tied for first with 66 for Circle Christian boys golf on the first day of the Titan Invitational.
    — Steve Gorches, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of boys
Noun
  • As part of the New Voice Fellowship program, Humanitas has this year launched a partnership connecting fellows with managers from Echo Lake Entertainment for an educational exchange.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • This year’s fellows are Roberto Fatal, Joanna Rothkopf, Said Zagha, and Renee Zhan.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of fellows
Noun
  • Steinem then went on to become a freelance journalist in New York during the 1960s — when newsrooms were largely run by men and female reporters were typically restricted in the topics they were allowed to cover.
    — Juliana Kim, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Two men were arrested in connection with the deaths on Wednesday, in a joint operation involving the State of Mexico Prosecutor’s Office, the federal Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection and the Mexico City Secretariat of Citizen Security.
    — Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of men

Browse Nearby Words

swain
swains
swale
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Cite this Entry

“Swains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swains. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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