Holofernes

noun

Ho·​lo·​fer·​nes ˌhä-lə-ˈfər-(ˌ)nēz 

ˌhō-

: a general of Nebuchadnezzar's who led an Assyrian army against Israel and was beheaded in his sleep by Judith

Examples of Holofernes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Judith Beheading Holofernes, in which the heroine, with just a bit of a wince, is pictured in mid-decapitation of the writhing enemy, anticipates the action thriller. — Nicole Krauss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

Klimt is famous for his use of gold leaf in paintings such as The Kiss (1908), Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) and Judith and the Head of Holofernes (1901). — Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025

Decapitation was a Caravaggio speciality, hence his paintings of John the Baptist and Salome, the Gorgon Medusa, Judith and Holofernes, David and Goliath. — airmail.news, 20 Apr. 2024

Creel revisits a final conversation with that ex just before bringing up a painting of Judith With the Head of Holofernes. — Vulture, 4 Dec. 2023

The paintings tell the Old Testament story of Judith beheading Holofernes; one was made by a young Italian woman around 1612, the other by a gay Nigerian-American man in 2012. — Brittanie Shey, Chron, 6 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, from Greek Holophernēs

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Holofernes

• adjourns
• concerns
• discerns
• downturns
• internes
• nocturnes
• returns
• sideburns
• churns
• earns
• ferns
• kerns