as in prostitute
a woman who engages in sexual activities for money
the protagonist of the novel is a composite of several real-life courtesans who plied their trade among the decadent aristocracy
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Recent Examples of courtesan
Annoyed with her nephew’s behavior, the Vicomte’s aunt, Madame de Rosemonde (Diane Kruger), mentors Isabelle and boldly transforms her into one of Paris’ leading courtesans.
—
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025
The victims are local teenagers, seized in roundups, while the courtesans, whose ghastly storytelling each night inspires the action, are like camp followers, the guards collaborators.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Later, Cellini is invited to a dinner and shows up with a young man dressed as a woman; the courtesan, his lover at the time, is also at the dinner, which leads to an enormously violent scene.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Immerse yourself in the world of Violetta, a determined and famed courtesan, who abandons everything for love.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for courtesan
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Nov. 2025
The victims are local teenagers, seized in roundups, while the courtesans, whose ghastly storytelling each night inspires the action, are like camp followers, the guards collaborators.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Later, Cellini is invited to a dinner and shows up with a young man dressed as a woman; the courtesan, his lover at the time, is also at the dinner, which leads to an enormously violent scene.
—Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Immerse yourself in the world of Violetta, a determined and famed courtesan, who abandons everything for love.
—Kirby Adams, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for courtesan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for courtesan
Noun
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Many maintained contact with him even after his conviction in 2008 for soliciting a prostitute and procuring a child for prostitution in Florida.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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The mothers were usually poor women or prostitutes, the children generally given up for adoption to orphanages, many of them run by foreign missionaries.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Hayley — who turns out to be a hooker who does secretarial admin on the side and not an executive assistant who occasionally threesomes — is extorting him for $750,000.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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Well, yes, there were also hookers and tequila girls and whatever else was going on in those offices.—
Lacey Rose,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Courtesan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/courtesan. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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