n · neutral
widow
UK/ˈwɪdəʊ/US/ˈwɪdoʊ/WI·dow
A woman whose husband has died and who has not married again.
Examples
“After her husband died, she became a widow and moved closer to her children.”
“The charity provides support groups for widows.”
“She was a young widow with two small children.”
Band 8 sentence
“The novel sensitively portrays how widows navigate social stigma and financial insecurity after losing a spouse.”
Collocations
- young widow
- recently widowed
Word family
Common mistakes
call both genders 'widow'→use 'widow' for women, 'widower' for men
write 'a widow woman' or 'the widow woman'→say 'a widow' or 'the widow' (no need for 'woman')
Say it for a higher band
5widowed→6bereaved→7+widow
Synonyms
bereaved woman
Easily confused
widower
“After his wife passed away, he became a widower and moved back to his hometown.”
Related words
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In Family & Relationships
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