Don Juan

American  

[don wahn, dawn hwahn, don joo-uhn] / dɒn ˈwɑn, dɔn ˈʰwɑn, dɒn ˈdʒu ən /

noun

1. a legendary Spanish nobleman famous for his many seductions and dissolute life.

2. a libertine or rake.

3. a ladies' man; womanizer.

4. (italics) an unfinished epic satire (1819–24) by Byron.

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Don Juan British  

/ ˈdɒn ˈdʒuːən, don xwan /

noun

1. a legendary Spanish nobleman and philanderer: hero of many poems, plays, and operas, including treatments by de Molina, Molière, Goldoni, Mozart, Byron, and Shaw

2. a successful seducer of women

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Don Juan ¹ Cultural  

1. An obsessive and unscrupulous pursuer of women: “He charms all his female colleagues; he is the Don Juan of the office.” From the legendary nobleman who seduced hundreds of women and was eventually damned for his immoral ways.

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Don Juan ² Cultural  

1. A legendary Spanish nobleman and chaser of women; he first appears in Spanish literature in the seventeenth century. Many authors and composers have depicted him: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in the opera Don Giovanni; Lord Byron, in the long poem “Don Juan”; and George Bernard Shaw, in the play Man and Superman.

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Example Sentences

Although South Coast Repertory is touting Octavio Solis’ “Man of the Flesh” as a Chicano satire of the Don Juan myth, the playwright is not sure he likes the description.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2024

"It's important to recognize that Don Juan de Onate led many of our families here to this valley," said Espanola Mayor John Ramon Vigil, who supports displaying the statue.

From Reuters • Sep. 28, 2023

And between Papi Juancho and his new Don Juan persona, Maluma knows something about characters.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 22, 2023

She perplexes the heart, in part because she's more than simply a Don Juan figure.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2022

I’ve shot myself in the foot is what I’ve done by helping out the old Don Juan.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez