philander
verb
phi·lan·der
fə-ˈlan-dər 
philandered; philandering
fə-ˈlan-d(ə-)riŋ
: 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
Judith Crist 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 one of our conversations, Apatow brought up the episode in which one of the geeks of Freaks and Geeks, Neal Schweiber (played by Samm Levine), confronts his philandering father by telling hostile jokes about him through a ventriloquist puppet.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
In his 1964 book The Minister and the Choir Singer, attorney William Kunstler theorized that the crime was committed by the Ku Klux Klan, then active in New Jersey, as a way to punish the philandering minister.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 27 June 2025
Diana begins an affair with the most dashing of them, the philandering earl of Erroll, who is murdered after publicly cuckolding Broughton.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
But the two ultimately make up and head back to America together — leaving the philandering Tracy to fend for himself abroad.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for philander
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Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
In his 1964 book The Minister and the Choir Singer, attorney William Kunstler theorized that the crime was committed by the Ku Klux Klan, then active in New Jersey, as a way to punish the philandering minister.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 27 June 2025
Diana begins an affair with the most dashing of them, the philandering earl of Erroll, who is murdered after publicly cuckolding Broughton.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
But the two ultimately make up and head back to America together — leaving the philandering Tracy to fend for himself abroad.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for philander
Cite this Entry
“Philander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philander. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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philander
verb
phi·lan·der
fə-ˈlan-dər
philandered; philandering
-d(ə-)riŋ
: to be sexually unfaithful to one's wife
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