How to Use courtesan in a Sentence
courtesan
noun-
Elite patronage had given rise to quarters of courtesans, and an ecosystem of music, dance and fashion grew around them.
—Mujib Mashal Atul Loke, New York Times, 1 May 2024
-
This is Sadaf Jafar, who stepped into the pretty decent-sized role of Bibbo, the maid who runs the home of the courtesan.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2020
-
In 1890s France a courtesan falls in love with a young writer but strings along a duke who can finance improvements to the night spot.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2019
-
Mariko declines, and Blackthorne follows the courtesan alone, brushing his hand over Mariko’s on the way.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
-
In that scene, a courtesan challenges an emperor in court by declaring her love for a prince.
—New York Times, 5 Feb. 2022
-
On one side of the street, azaleas — official shrub of the Mid-Atlantic — were just starting to peep out, each blossom a courtesan’s sly smile.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2018
-
As the maid in Manet’s Olympia, Laure is presenting a large bouquet of flowers sent by a client of the naked courtesan who lies on a flotilla of white cushions.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2018
-
That is some kind of ultimate 21st-century courtesan thing to have said.
—Bruce Sterling, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2008
-
One was a courtesan, the other a divorcée; both flouted the conventions of their milieux.
—Adam Davidson, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2017
-
This is the story of a lonely, widowed businessman, a courtesan, 1700s London, and a mermaid.
—Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
-
The pic, now in post, is directed by French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn, who also plays the role of the titular courtesan, Madame du Barry.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 12 Jan. 2023
-
Elisa has recently been orphaned for a second time by the death of her guardian, Rosaria, a minor courtesan who took her in after her parents’ untimely deaths.
—Jess Bergman, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023
-
Casanova finally met his match in London, in the person of the courtesan Marianne de Charpillon.
—Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2018
-
Kikugawa Eizan’s print from around 1830 depicts the courtesan Yoyoyama swiveling to show off the white-on-black brush painting of bamboo that fills the back of her garment, complete with the artist’s signature seals.
—Lee Lawrence, WSJ, 27 Feb. 2021
-
Welcome to Cannes, where a period drama about an 18th-century courtesan has somehow become the single most scandalous thing to happen to the French film fest in a decade.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2023
-
He was raised by his mother, a courtesan who amassed a fortune before retiring from her sensual labors.
—Michael Lapointe, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2022
-
The gorgeously gilded opera house was a perfect environment to watch the trials and tragedy of the courtesan Violetta Valéry.
—New York Times, 11 May 2018
-
She's pretended to be a gypsy, a courtesan, an aristocrat.
—Town & Country, 6 Feb. 2023
-
Violetta Valéry has it all as Paris’ most admired courtesan.
—San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2022
-
In his famous years as a Hollywood courtesan, the movie captures the man as a welcome relief from the oppressive and conservative moral conduct of the industry.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2019
-
Along with 13 pairs of courtesan-like heel-less shoes, including ones Tatehana created for Lady Gaga, are sculptural geisha-style hairpins and samurai sword blades.
—oregonlive, 6 Oct. 2019
-
Scholars had known little about the mural, which includes images of Whitney, the founder of the museum that bears her name; Mr. Cushing’s wife, Ethel; and assorted courtesans, musicians and slaves.
—Eve M. Kahn, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2018
-
The rivalry between Wells’s daughters, Emily and Charlotte, the former a virgin, the latter a high-society courtesan.
—Viv Groskop, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2017
-
By her early 20s, Bernhardt—the daughter of a Dutch Jewish courtesan—had realized her passion for performing.
—Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2023
-
The additional characters include enough courtesans, soldiers and, yes, eunuchs to give Wilde Lake a wild population boost for the duration of this show.
—Mike Giuliano, Howard County Times, 22 Mar. 2018
-
The popular comedy incorporates music, dance and mime, in a story about a humble sardine seller and his love for the most glamorous courtesan in Kyoto.
—oregonlive, 25 May 2022
-
And none of them are playing scientists, martial artists, assassins, or courtesans — the kinds of roles Asian and Asian-American actors are frequently reduced to playing.
—Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 10 Aug. 2018
-
From his teens onward, Simenon had enjoyed the company of prostitutes, and there’s rarely an unsympathetic streetwalker, call girl, bar girl, dance-hall girl, mistress, or courtesan to be found in his books.
—Vince Passaro, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019
-
Perhaps Lady Castlerosse might have been something other than a society courtesan.
—Judith Martin, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017
-
Hannity, as a Trump courtesan with a giant cable and radio audience, is a newsmaker.
—The Hive, 28 Mar. 2017
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'courtesan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated: