courtesan

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.

In his 18th opera, Giuseppe Verdi provocatively made the lead role a courtesan in contemporary Paris.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

His female companion, Mumtaz Begum, 22, was a courtesan on the run from the harem of a princely state and had been staying with Bawla for the last few months.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2025

The film, by French actor and director Maïwenn Le Besco, known as Maïwenn, chronicles the life of French courtesan Madame du Barry, who climbed the social ladder at Versailles to become the king's favourite.

From Reuters • May 17, 2023

Her father was out of the picture and her mother, a Parisian courtesan, had shuttled her daughter around France — to a boarding school, a countryside nursery, a nunnery.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

“Destined to be inseparable friends, in fact. A courtesan, a pilgrim, a princess, and a bullfighter. Hill House has surely never seen our like.”

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson