What does "widower" mean?

A man whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); a man in relation to his late spouse; masculine of widow.

What is a synonym for "widower"?

Common synonyms include: dowager, heir, orphan, successor, widow, widowman.

//ˈwɪdoʊɚ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A man whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); a man in relation to his late spouse; masculine of widow.
"Tears of the widower, when he sees ⁠A late-lost form that sleep reveals, ⁠And moves his doubtful arms, and feels Her place is empty, fall like these; […]"
2
a man whose wife is dead especially one who has not remarried wordnet

"A man whose wife is dead is called a widower."

From Middle English widwer, equivalent to widow + -er.

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