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Meaning & use

betroth

verb·Advancedliteraryold-fashioned

Last updated

UK/bɪˈtrəʊð/
US/bɪˈtroʊð/

Meaning

  1. verbtransitiveliteraryold-fashioned

    To promise someone in marriage, usually through a formal arrangement between families.

    Grammar: Needs an object: betroth a daughter. It is often used in the passive: be betrothed to someone.

    Patterns

    • betroth someone to someone
    • be betrothed to someone

    In the story, the king betroths his daughter to a foreign prince.

    She was betrothed to a man she had never met.

    The families betrothed the young couple when they were still children.

Word forms

third person singularbetroths
past tensebetrothed
past participlebetrothed
-ing formbetrothing

Common combinations

be betrothed to someone
In the novel, she is betrothed to a wealthy merchant.
betroth a daughter
The old custom allowed a father to betroth a daughter without her consent.
betrothed couple
The betrothed couple exchanged rings at the ceremony.

Synonyms and how they differ

engage
The modern everyday word for agreeing to marry; use it in normal conversation instead of betroth.
promise
A general word for making a commitment; it does not by itself mean a marriage agreement.

Word family

betrothal noun
A formal engagement to be married, especially in historical settings.
betrothed noun
The person to whom one is engaged, used in literary or old-fashioned writing.

Commonly confused: betroth or betray?

betroth vs betray

Betray means to be disloyal to someone, while betroth means to promise in marriage. They sound a little similar but have very different meanings.

Practice

In the historical novel, the young woman ___ a distant duke.

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