A widow is a person who identifies as a woman that has lost her spouse. . A widower, on the other hand, is a person who identifies as a man and has lost his spouse. The past tense of either widow or widower is widowed. You can refer to either a man or a woman as a widowed spouse, for example.

Is a widow considered unmarried or single?

You can only file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower for the two years after the year in which your spouse died. If you do not remarry in the third year after your spouses death, you are considered single. You will need to use the Single filing status unless you qualify to file as Head of Household.