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Jilt traces back to the English dialect noun jillet ("a flirtatious girl"), itself from Jill or Gill (used both as a proper name and as a noun meaning "girl") plus the diminutive suffix -et. Jilt itself came into use in the second half of the 17th century as a noun meaning "an unchaste woman" (a sense that is now obsolete) or "a woman who capriciously casts a lover aside," and also as a verb used for the actions of such a woman. These days, the person doing the jilting can be either male or female, and though jilt usually implies the sudden ending of a romantic relationship, it can also be used beyond the context of a romantic relationship with the broader meaning "to sever close relations with."
Synonyms
Examples of jilt in a Sentence
Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 13 Sep. 2024
Louise was a hopeless romantic who helped Carrie piece her life back together after Big jilted her at the altar.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 29 July 2024
Shayndi Raice, WSJ, 14 Nov. 2018
See all Example Sentences for jilt 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jilt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near jilt
Cite this Entry
“Jilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jilt. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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jilt
1 of 2 verbjilt
2 of 2 noun
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