jilt

[ jilt ]

/ dʒɪlt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jilt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to reject or cast aside (a lover or sweetheart), especially abruptly or unfeelingly.

noun

a woman who jilts a lover.

Nearby words

jillaroo, jillet, jillion, jilolo, jilong, jilt, jim, jim crow, jim crow law, jim crow laws, jim crowism

Origin of jilt

1650–60; earlier jilt harlot, syncopated variant of jillet

Related formsjilt·er, nounun·jilt·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jilt

Harry had been offended to the quick, and had called her a jilt; but yet it might be possible that he would return to her.
The Claverings|Anthony Trollope
To be so sordid a jilt, to betray me to such a beast as that!
Thomas Otway|Thomas Otway
It means, jilt Miss Nicotine in haste, and repent at leisure.
Out of the Depths|Robert Ames Bennet
Jilt, jilt, n. a woman who encourages a lover and then rejects him.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

If she be a jilt—Damn her, she is one—there's her name at the bottom on't.
The Recruiting Officer|George Farquhar

British Dictionary definitions for jilt

jilt

/ (dʒɪlt) /

verb

(tr) to leave or reject (a lover), esp without previous warningshe was jilted at the altar

noun

a woman who jilts a lover

Derived Formsjilter, noun

Word Origin for jilt

C17: from dialect jillet flighty girl, diminutive of proper name Gill

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

Word Origin and History for jilt (1 of 2)

jilt

"to deceive (especially after holding out hopes), cheat, trick," 1660s, from the same source as jilt (n.). Related: Jilted; jilting.

Word Origin and History for jilt (1 of 2)

jilt

1670s, "loose, unchaste woman; harlot;" also "woman who gives hope then dashes it," perhaps ultimately from Middle English gille "lass, wench," a familiar or contemptuous term for a woman or girl (mid-15c.), originally a shortened form of woman's name Gillian (see Jill).

jilt

verb (used with object)

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of jilt

Examples from the Web for jilt

British Dictionary definitions for jilt

jilt

verb

noun

Word Origin for jilt

Word Origin and History for jilt (1 of 2)

jilt

Word Origin and History for jilt (1 of 2)

jilt