philander
verb
phi·lan·der fə-ˈlan-dər 
philandered; philandering fə-ˈlan-d(ə-)riŋ
intransitive verb
: 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 
Synonyms
- cheat
- screw around
- step out
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
he can't seem to stop philandering, even now that he's on his fifth marriage
Recent Examples on the Web This fictional Hillary ultimately turns down the cheater’s proposal and sets off on her own, far away from Arkansas and philandering Bill. Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 18 May 2020 Dozie, who, along with his older brother, Nonso (Enyinna Nwigwe), works for his philandering father, is a bit of a playboy. The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2020 Up until that moment, Louis had been a figure in the thrall of Madame Sarah, like every other character in this play with the exception of the philandering actress’ own son, Maurice (Luigi Sottile). Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 24 Sep. 2019 Scenes where Vogel reveals lifelong resentment of his philandering father (Chris Cooper) apply Rogers’s TV teaching to an adult’s family crisis. Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2019 But the children’s entertainer takes an immediate interest in Vogel, who has never forgiven his philandering father, Jerry (Chris Cooper), for neglecting him as a child. David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2019 Where Baldwin is the square-jawed, right-stuff astronaut trope made manifest, Stevens embodies the hard-drinking, philandering, hotshot fighter pilot. Kate Cox, Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2019 While training for a spot in the next space mission, Lucy is charmed by Mark, who has a reputation for philandering. Gina Martinez, Time, 3 Oct. 2019 The idea of unskilled volunteers naively traipsing through Africa sparks the type of bad press usually reserved for Kardashians and philandering politicians. Ken Budd, National Geographic, 27 June 2019 See More
Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 18 May 2020 Dozie, who, along with his older brother, Nonso (Enyinna Nwigwe), works for his philandering father, is a bit of a playboy. The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2020 Up until that moment, Louis had been a figure in the thrall of Madame Sarah, like every other character in this play with the exception of the philandering actress’ own son, Maurice (Luigi Sottile). Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 24 Sep. 2019 Scenes where Vogel reveals lifelong resentment of his philandering father (Chris Cooper) apply Rogers’s TV teaching to an adult’s family crisis. Armond White, National Review, 29 Nov. 2019 But the children’s entertainer takes an immediate interest in Vogel, who has never forgiven his philandering father, Jerry (Chris Cooper), for neglecting him as a child. David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2019 Where Baldwin is the square-jawed, right-stuff astronaut trope made manifest, Stevens embodies the hard-drinking, philandering, hotshot fighter pilot. Kate Cox, Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2019 While training for a spot in the next space mission, Lucy is charmed by Mark, who has a reputation for philandering. Gina Martinez, Time, 3 Oct. 2019 The idea of unskilled volunteers naively traipsing through Africa sparks the type of bad press usually reserved for Kardashians and philandering politicians. Ken Budd, National Geographic, 27 June 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
from obsolete philander lover, philanderer, probably from the name Philander
First Known Use
1737, in the meaning defined above
philandering
verb
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
- cheating
- womanizing
- screwing around
- fornicating
- stepping out
- sleeping
- mating
- copulating
- lying
- coupling
- lusting
- fooling around
- playing (around)
- catting (around)
- tomcatting (around)
- making out