wooer

IPA/ˈwuː.ər/
IPA/ˈwuː.ɚ/

wooer — noun

1. someone, often in older or literary contexts, who tries to win another person's

1.nounB2
Definition

someone, often in older or literary contexts, who tries to win another person's love and hopes to marry them

Example

At the spring fair, Leo looked uneasy as a rival wooer offered Mia flowers.

wooer in a courtship rivalry

The proud father tested each wooer before inviting him into the house.

Common collocations
  • persistent wooer
  • rejected wooer
  • young wooer
  • wooer waits outside
Synonyms
  • suitor

    more formal and often more clearly connected to marriage

  • admirer

    broader and less active; may simply mean someone with romantic interest

  • pursuer

    more general and not limited to romantic courtship

Usage Note

Usually found in literary, historical, or deliberately old-fashioned writing. Unlike admirer, it suggests active efforts to win love, and unlike suitor, it does not always stress a formal plan to marry immediately.

Common Mistakes

He is one of her biggest wooers on social media.
He is one of her biggest admirers on social media.
Wooer suggests active courtship, not general online praise.
The new wooer offered to buy the company.
The new suitor offered to buy the company.
In business news, suitor is used for a takeover bidder, not wooer.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Wooer is an old-fashioned word for someone who actively tries to win another person's love. Suitor is the closest match, but it often sounds more formal and more clearly tied to marriage. Admirer is broader and weaker: an admirer may simply feel attraction or send kind messages without seriously courting the person. Lover usually describes an existing romantic or sexual relationship, so it is not a good substitute for someone still trying to win affection. Pursuer is more general and can describe any determined chaser, not only in romance. In a historical novel, a young man bringing flowers to the family home is more naturally called a wooer or suitor than an admirer.

suitor ↗admirer ↗lover ↗pursuer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • persistent wooer
  • bold wooer
  • rival wooer

Phrases

  • a wooer brings flowers
  • a wooer seeks approval

Prepositions

  • wooer of a noblewoman

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Wooer comes from the verb woo plus the ending -er, which forms a noun for the person who does an action. The older verb woo has long been used for trying to win love or marriage.