Difference Between Fiancé and Fiancée

Main Difference – Fiancé vs Fiancée

Fiancé and Fiancée are French words which appeared in the English language around mid 19^th century. These two words are gender specific like many French words. The main difference between Fiancé and Fiancée is their gender. Fiancé refers to a man who is engaged to be married whereas Fiancée refers to a woman who is engaged to be married. It is customary to write Fiancé and Fiancée with French accent marks.

Fiancé – Definition, Meaning and Usage

Fiancé is the masculine form of the word. Fiancé refers to a man who is engaged to be married. This term is basically used to refer to a man during the time period from engagement to marriage. Before the engagement, he’ll probably be referred to as boyfriend and after marriage, he’ll be known as husband. The word fiancé is always used in relation to the woman he is engaged to.

Observe how this word has been used in the following examples.

The death of her fiancé sent her over the edge.

Marian’s fiancé helped her to find a new apartment.

Neeta had a major fight with her fiancé and cancelled the engagement.

She did not want to move to Japan without her fiancé.

Fiancée – Definition, Meaning and Usage

Fiancée is the feminine form of fiancé. Fiancée refers to a woman who is engaged to be married. This term is basically used to refer to a woman during the time period from engagement to marriage. Before the engagement, she’ll probably be referred to as girlfriend and after marriage, she’ll be known as wife. The word fiancé is always used in relation to the man she is engaged to.

He didn’t introduce his fiancée to us.

Jake’s fiancée arranged a surprise party for his birthday.

Mason didn’t want to start the party without his fiancée.

His fiancée told him that the engagement was over.

I saw Nate with Jake’s fiancée last week.

While it is important to know the difference between Fiancé and Fiancée, it is also important to know that some writers use the term fiancé to refer to both men and women. These two words get more confusing when we consider same-sex marriage.