Definition

1. Noun:
   • Foolish or excessive fondness for one's wife: Refers to an extreme, often unreasonable, degree of affection or devotion a husband shows towards his wife.
   • Excessive submissiveness to one's wife: Describes a state where a husband is overly compliant or obedient to his wife's wishes, to a degree that may be seen as a weakness or lack of independence.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • His constant pandering to her every whim was seen as pure uxoriousness.
  • The king's uxoriousness led his advisors to worry he would put his wife's desires before the kingdom's needs.

Advanced Usage

• As a character trait: Often used in literary or formal criticism to describe a flaw in a male character.
  • The novel critiques the protagonist's uxoriousness as a form of emotional dependency.

Variants and Related Words

• Uxorious (adj): Having the qualities of uxoriousness.
  • He was an uxorious husband, never making a decision without consulting his wife.

Synonyms

• Wife-worship: (informal) Extreme devotion to one's wife.
• Submissiveness: The quality of being overly yielding (though not specific to marriage).
• Dotage: Excessive fondness; senile affection (broader, not exclusive to a spouse).

Antonyms

• Misogyny: Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.
• Neglect: The state of being uncared for.
• Independence: The fact or state of being independent.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Henpecked": (Idiom, informal) Describes a husband who is dominated by his wife. While similar, "henpecked" emphasizes control by the wife, whereas "uxoriousness" emphasizes the husband's voluntary excessive devotion.
  • He wasn't just henpecked; his uxoriousness was a choice he made willingly.

Noun

1. foolish fondness for or excessive submissiveness to one's wife