as in prostitution
the practice of engaging in sexual activities for money
a city that in biblical times was infamous for licentiousness and harlotry
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Recent Examples of harlotry
In one case, the life of an upper-class woman and contemporary of Julius Caesar, Clodia, saw her reputation destroyed by false claims of harlotry, home-wrecking, and husband-killing.
—
Time, 24 Nov. 2025
Within the slippery world of harlotry—where class can be transcended and humanity bought—relationships form that defy our historical assumptions about the bounded categories of human experience.
—Sarah Marshall, New Republic, 2 June 2017
That's how my job eventually descended into harlotry: through the endless cat-and-mouse game of porntrepreneurs subverting Google's anti-smut policies.
—Lucas Peterson, GQ, 22 May 2017
Time, 24 Nov. 2025
Within the slippery world of harlotry—where class can be transcended and humanity bought—relationships form that defy our historical assumptions about the bounded categories of human experience.
—Sarah Marshall, New Republic, 2 June 2017
That's how my job eventually descended into harlotry: through the endless cat-and-mouse game of porntrepreneurs subverting Google's anti-smut policies.
—Lucas Peterson, GQ, 22 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harlotry
prostitution
Noun
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The actor's role will be recast, after he was officially charged Monday with one misdemeanor count of soliciting prostitution, Entertainment Weekly has learned.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Jan. 2026
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Zambrano-Contreras was previously arrested for prostitution, Day said, and Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was served in that case.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harlotry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harlotry. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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