Definition

Noun: A woman who is financially supported by a man, typically a lover, in exchange for a continuing sexual relationship. This term implies a long-term, non-marital arrangement where the man provides for the woman's living expenses.

Usage

The term is used to describe a specific, often secretive or socially stigmatized, relationship dynamic. It focuses on the economic dependency of the woman within the relationship. * She was rumored to be the businessman's kept woman, living in an apartment he paid for. * In the novel, the character leaves her job to become a kept woman, trading independence for security.

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries connotations of secrecy, illicit relationships (such as adultery), and a power imbalance based on economics and gender.
• It is frequently used in historical or literary contexts to describe arrangements that were more common or openly acknowledged in past societies.

Variants and Related Words

• Mistress: A more common synonym, though "mistress" can also refer more broadly to a woman in a position of authority or control, or a woman having an affair with a married man.
• Paramour: A gender-neutral term for a lover, especially one in an illicit relationship, but without the specific connotation of financial support.
• Concubine: Historically, a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than a wife. This term is often associated with specific historical or cultural contexts.

Synonyms

• Mistress
• Lover (in this specific context)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To be kept: The passive verbal form describing the state.
  • She was kept in a luxurious lifestyle by her wealthy patron.
• A kept man: The much rarer male equivalent of the term.
  • The tabloids scandalously referred to him as a kept man after he moved into his famous girlfriend's estate.

Noun

1. an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man