Definition

1. Verb:
   • To formally promise to marry someone; to engage to be married: The act of pledging oneself or being pledged in marriage, typically involving a formal agreement between two people or their families.

Usage

• Verb (transitive): The verb "betroth" is used with an object. The common construction is "to betroth someone (to someone)." The passive form "to be betrothed (to someone)" is very frequent.
• Formality: This word is formal and traditional, often associated with historical, religious, or ceremonial contexts. In modern everyday English, "engaged" is more common.

Examples

• Verb (Active Voice):

  • The king betrothed his daughter to a nobleman from a neighboring kingdom.
  • In the old tradition, families would betroth their children while they were still young.

• Verb (Passive Voice - Most Common):

  • She was betrothed to a man she had never met.
  • They have been betrothed since last spring and plan to marry in the summer.

Advanced Usage

• "Betrothed" as a Noun: The past participle "betrothed" can function as a formal noun to refer to the person one is engaged to.
  • He introduced her as his betrothed. (Meaning: his fiancée)

Variants and Related Words

• Betrothal (n): The formal engagement to be married; the period of being engaged.
  • The betrothal ceremony was held in the family chapel.
• Engaged (adj): The more common modern synonym for being promised in marriage.
  • They got engaged last month.

Synonyms

• Pledge: To commit solemnly (e.g., ).
• Affiance (archaic verb): To bind by a promise of marriage.
• Promise in marriage: A more descriptive phrase with the same meaning.

Antonyms

• Break off an engagement: To end a betrothal.
• Divorce: To legally end a marriage (the state after marriage, not betrothal).

Notes

• Historical Context: Betrothals were often legally and socially binding agreements, sometimes arranged by families for political or economic reasons.
• Difference from Engagement: While synonymous, "betroth/betrothal" often implies a more formal, binding, or traditional pact than the modern "engagement."

Verb

1. give to in marriage