What does widowed mean?
Widowed describes a person whose spouse has died. It is used for both women and men, unlike the gender-specific term widower. In everyday use, the word is usually an adjective: a widowed mother, a widowed grandfather, or a widowed spouse. It can also function as a verb, especially in the passive form 'was widowed,' meaning that someone lost their spouse through death. The term carries a serious and enduring emotional association, although it describes a legal and social status as well as a personal experience of bereavement. It is distinct from simply being unmarried, since widowhood follows the death of a spouse. Widowed is useful because it identifies bereavement specifically within a marriage and recognizes the grief and practical changes that can accompany that loss.
Having lost one's spouse by death.
"She became widowed after the sudden death of her husband."
This is the dominant modern use and applies to either a man or a woman.
To cause to become widowed or to lose one's spouse by death.
"The illness widowed her before she was forty."
The verb is less common than the adjective and is frequently used in the passive, as in 'was widowed.'
Widowed carries the whole weight of bereavement in one word: it identifies not only the loss of a spouse, but also the changed life that follows.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does widowed come from?
The adjective and verb descend from widow, which comes from Old English widuwe. That English word belongs to the Germanic family and has close parallels in German Witwe and Dutch weduwe, while the Latin cognate vidua also contributed to related English words such as widowhood and viduity. The form widowed was developed in English by adding the adjectival or verbal ending -ed to the older base.
How widowed is actually used
The word is neutral in register but emotionally serious because it describes bereavement within a marriage. The verb form is less common and usually appears in the passive, as in 'was widowed.'
Easily confused with widowed
Widowed can describe either a man or a woman who has lost a spouse, whereas widower specifically means a man whose wife has died.