sweetheart
/ˈswiːthɑːt
/noun
1A person with whom someone is having a romantic or sexual relationship: the pair were childhood sweethearts...
- A Very Long Engagement tells the story of Mathilde, a young woman from a small farming community in France who falls in love with her childhood sweetheart.
- But he is still, of course, hopelessly in love with his childhood sweetheart Pandora Braithwaite, who has become a prominent MP with a nose for a photo opportunity.
- Michel is loved by his childhood sweetheart, the perfect and beautiful Annabelle, whom he can barely love in return, try though he might.
Synonyms
girlfriend, boyfriend, lover, beloved, love, significant other, darling, true love, woman friend, man friend, lady friend, lady love, beau, loved one, suitor, admirer, paramour, inamorato, inamorata
informal steady, flame, WAGs (wives and girlfriends)
British informal boyf, girlf
literary swain
dated follower
1.1Used as a term of endearment or affectionate form of address: don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ve got it all worked out...
- Believe me, my dear sweetheart, you are very great - you provoked me and I decided to write you.
- You know, my dear sweetheart, I am denied everything from love to smoking.
- I hated it when people called you darling, sweetheart, honey, sweetie.
Synonyms
darling, dear, dearest, love, beloved, dear one, sweet
informal honey, sweetie, sugar, baby, babe, doll, poppet
archaic sweeting
1.2A particularly lovable or pleasing person or thing: he is an absolute sweetheart...
- She is an absolute sweetheart and we're really glad to have her.
- He even managed to meet the lady and says she is an absolute sweetheart.
- Now, don't get me wrong, the guy is gorgeous and an absolute sweetheart and one of the nicest guys I think I have ever met, and yes, like many of the other girls in my school, I had a mad crush on him.
1.3 [as modifier] informal Denoting an arrangement reached privately by two sides, especially an employer and a trade union, in their own interests: he cut a sweetheart deal with a politically well-placed union to get their endorsement in his re-election campaign...
- Arguably, the only reason the Valentia consortium won was due to a sweetheart deal with the trade unions.
- Political watchdog groups have described it as a sweetheart arrangement for corporations close to the Bush administration.
- Laing has signed a sweetheart deal with the Ucatt union under which workers will be brought onto a contract (rather than be considered self employed) - but at a loss of pay.