What does womanising mean?
Womanising is a chiefly British verb meaning to engage in sexual relationships with multiple women, especially casually or without commitment. It is sometimes used more broadly for pursuing women sexually, but the word most often carries an evaluative or dismissive tone: it can imply that a man treats women as objects rather than partners. In informal writing, womanising may describe repeated affairs or casual sexual encounters, while a more neutral account might speak of casual relationships. The spelling with -ising is characteristic of British English and other varieties that favour -ise; American English usually uses womanizing. Although the expression can sound dated or derogatory, it remains useful when discussing patterns of dating or sexual behaviour. Its blunt wording makes it memorable, while its history shows how language can mark both a speaker’s region and their attitude toward gender and relationships.
verb (present participle and gerund)Engaging in sexual relationships with multiple women, especially casually or without commitment. It can also mean pursuing women sexually.
- Engaging in sexual relationships with multiple women, especially casually or without commitment.
"He was forever womanising, moving from one summer romance to the next."
"He was forever womanising, moving from one summer romance to the next."
"Her biography was careful not to suggest that the director had spent his career womanising."
The spelling does the regional signalling: '-ising' is a familiar British marker, while American English usually writes 'womanizing'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of womanising
Womanising derives from woman plus the English verbal suffix -ise; the suffix came through French usage from the Greek -izein, meaning to make or cause to become. The noun woman comes from Old English wifman, originally a compound of wif, meaning wife or woman, and man, meaning human being. The modern verb developed during the 19th century and is related to forms such as womanhood, womanlike and womanly.
Related word forms
How womanising is actually used
The -ise spelling is chiefly British, although American English also uses the -ise form occasionally. The expression is informal and commonly carries a dismissive or objectifying connotation, particularly when describing a man who treats women as sexual conquests.
Easily confused with womanising
Womanising and womanizing are British and American spelling variants of the same verb and do not have different meanings.