Holofernes

American

[hol-uh-fur-neez, hoh-luh-] / ˌhɒl əˈfɜr niz, ˌhoʊ lə- /

noun

(in the Book of Judith) a general, serving Nebuchadnezzar, who was killed by Judith.

Holofernes British

/ həˈlɒfəˌniːz, ˌhɒləˈfɜːniːz /

noun

the Assyrian general, who was killed by the biblical heroine Judith

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Another painting that stands as Artemisia’s virtual logo represents Judith and Holofernes, a subject she executed three times.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2022

In 2014, a version of the work Judith Beheading Holofernes was found under an old mattress in the loft of a house in Toulouse, France.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2021

In Massachusetts, Erica Stockwell-Alpert and Alex deVillers posed as Caravaggio’s "Judith Beheading Holofernes" using a kitchen knife and their spare bedsheets.

From Fox News • Apr. 20, 2020

The pediment also features statues of St. George, St. Theodore, the Evangelists, the Prophets and Judith with the head of Holofernes, the Assyrian general who threatened to destroy her home of the city of Bethulia.

From Washington Times • Jul. 17, 2018

I walk over to my favorite painting, Judith Slaying Holofernes.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023