jilt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
jilts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jilted,
past participle, past
-
jilting
present participle
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jiltsimple
-
jiltssimple
-
have jiltedperfect
-
has jiltedperfect
-
am jiltingprogressive
-
are jiltingprogressive
-
is jiltingprogressive
-
have been jiltingperfect progressive
-
has been jiltingperfect progressive
Past
-
jiltedsimple
-
had jiltedperfect
-
was jiltingprogressive
-
were jiltingprogressive
-
had been jiltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jilt
First recorded in 1650–60; earlier jilt “harlot,” shortening of jillet
Explanation
When you jilt someone, you throw them over or reject them, especially romantically. It would be cruel to jilt your boyfriend on the day before the prom. If a bride jilts her groom, she leaves him waiting for her in his tuxedo, and if a boy jilts his date, he never shows up at the planned time. In either case, it's an unkind and thoughtless thing to do to someone. In the 1660s, to jilt meant "to deceive, cheat, or trick," and it was also a noun meaning "woman who gives hope and then dashes it," from the Middle English root gille, "lass or wench."
Vocabulary lists containing jilt
A Doll's House
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The Secret Life of Bees
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Chronicle of a Death Foretold
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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.
See Examples For:
Trying to remain friends ruined Jack’s marriage and made Alice jilt another man at the altar.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2024
Two guys who felt like bedrock had moved stunningly, giving everyone a chance to join in the grand tradition of the jilt.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2021
Every time you are tempted to respond, look at your fiancé—the one who didn’t jilt you and lie to you.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2019
You don’t jilt a woman who can spin in midair while wearing the equivalent of an ermine-trimmed housecoat.
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2016
She might jilt a commoner for the chance of winning a marquis; but even that she would only do in a grand off-hand way befitting a daughter of the house of Ruysdale.
From The Doctor's Wife by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
Then she watches as he jilts her for Julie Andrews’s Maria, a 19-year-old wannabe nun who runs around wearing drapes.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2020
In “Queen,” the female lead takes a European “honeymoon” by herself after her fiance jilts her.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 27, 2017
The film stars Jill Clayburgh as a thirtysomething gallerist, wife and mother whose life is turned upside down when her stockbroker husband jilts her for a younger woman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2014
San Diego State jilts Big East, staying in Mountain West San Diego State is staying in the Mountain West and backing out on the Big East — just like Boise State did last month.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2013
In the Gazette he'll put us all by name; My love will figure under leaded headings, With jilts, and twins, and countermanded weddings.
From Love's Comedy by C. H. (Charles Harold) Herford
The competition jilted several companies that didn’t make the cut, leading defense-tech executives to complain to members of Congress and sue the government, separate people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Well-wishers held out their flowers like jilted lovers.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Playing a jilted wife whose disdain for her husband swells as the film progresses, "Contempt" was one of Bardot's rare critically acclaimed films, with The New York Times praising it as her best acting performance.
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
The final segment is a full circle of sorts: with Jatgeir dead, Eline returns to her jilted husband.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
I looked at Rosaleen, afraid this situation of jilted love might be unfortunate enough to send May into one of her episodes, but she was intent on my pancake.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
This is just the latest jilting in a sports market full of stakeholders shunning longtime alliances.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2022
The Raiders are jilting us, abandoning their loyal fan base.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2019
Killebrew and Allison took the Twins to the World Series in 1965, while Senators 2.0 had one winning season before again jilting the city and moving to Texas in 1972.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2018
Frank says there was no hesitation about jilting Evans for Kerouac, but informing his mentor that he was forsaking him for Kerouac ‘‘was a difficult moment.’’
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2015
It was only natural that he should feel a certain resentment of her jilting of one of his cousins, even though she had done it in favor of another and more important one.
From A Manifest Destiny by Julia Magruder
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
