Nearlywed

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who is engaged to be married.

    "The best advice for anyone about to buy furniture—and this goes for singles, nearlyweds, parents, and retirees—is study."

  2. 2
    A person who lives with a romantic partner without being married.

    "Call them "nearlyweds," couples with all the trappings of marriage—the home, the in-laws, the shared Labradoodle, maybe even the kids—but no actual marriage certificate. It's the latest relationship trend, and a growing one. But is it good or bad for women? Let nearlyweds themselves, and a few wise experts, fill you in."

Example

More examples

"The best advice for anyone about to buy furniture—and this goes for singles, nearlyweds, parents, and retirees—is study."

Etymology

From nearly + wed, modeled on newlywed.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.