as in prostitute
a woman who engages in sexual activities for money
the protagonist of the novel is a composite of several real-life courtesans who plied their trade among the decadent aristocracy
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Recent Examples of courtesan
But the married Mariko calmly insisted the next morning that the dark encounter was actually with a courtesan.
—
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
There have been two earlier biographies of Harriman, neither of them bent on re-envisioning her as a geopolitical player, as Purnell is, but content instead to present her as, well, just that, a courtesan.
—Daphne Merkin, airmail.news, 28 Sep. 2024
The show talks about the love lives and power tussles of the courtesans of Lahore.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Queen of the Night is a big juicy epic about the many travails of an opera singer and courtesan in 18th-century France, her many enemies, and her many lovers.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for courtesan
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
There have been two earlier biographies of Harriman, neither of them bent on re-envisioning her as a geopolitical player, as Purnell is, but content instead to present her as, well, just that, a courtesan.
—Daphne Merkin, airmail.news, 28 Sep. 2024
The show talks about the love lives and power tussles of the courtesans of Lahore.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Queen of the Night is a big juicy epic about the many travails of an opera singer and courtesan in 18th-century France, her many enemies, and her many lovers.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for courtesan
Cite this Entry
“Courtesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/courtesan. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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