“Fiancé” vs. “Fiancée”

You’re engaged! Now you want to share this momentous occasion with the online world, but you wonder if the correct term to use is fiancé or fiancée.

Or maybe you’re just here to prove someone wrong. (Some would say that’s just as important.)

In any case, we’ll explain the difference between the terms fiancé and fiancée and provide example sentences to show you how to use them correctly.

Let’s begin!

Many people use the term “fiancé” to refer to their future wife, but this is incorrect.

When To Use “Fiancé”

Fiancé is a noun that refers to a “man who is engaged to be married.” It’s a loanword—or word taken from another language with little to no modification—that we borrowed from French.

Fiancé is pronounced like fee-ahn-SAY and should always be spelled with an “-é” (acute accent).

Here are a few example sentences that use the word fiancé correctly.

When To Use “Fiancée”

Fiancée is defined as a “woman who is engaged to be married.” It’s a common mistake for people to use fiancé to refer to their future wives.

This error is understandable, as fiancé and fiancée are homophones, so they’re pronounced identically (the final “e” is silent).

Below are a few example sentences that contain the word fiancée.

“Fiancée” is the term you use for your wife-to-be, whereas you would use “fiancé” for your future husband.

Synonyms for “Fiancé” and “Fiancée”

If you’re looking for general terms you can use instead of fiancé and fiancée, you can try any of the following phrases.

Betrothed

Betrothed can function as a noun or adjective. As a noun, it refers to “the person one will be marrying.”

Spouse-to-be

Spouse can mean either “husband” or “wife.” Therefore, spouse-to-be refers to “someone who will soon be married.”

Intended

Intended can be used to mean “the person to whom another is engaged to be married.”