jezebel
jezebel Lexical Profile
jezebel Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman; a scheming or wicked woman (often capitalized).
"In the melodramatic nineteenth-century novel, the villainess is portrayed as a manipulative jezebel who brings ruin to the family."
Any of various brightly colored, medium-sized butterflies of the genus Delias (family Pieridae), native to South and Southeast Asia and Australia, having bold black, white, red, and yellow markings on the undersides of the wings.
Word Nuance & Usage
As a common noun, 'jezebel' is a dated, strongly derogatory term applied to women, and in American cultural history it has also been recognized as a harmful racial trope.
Word Origin & Etymology
Eponymously derived from Queen Jezebel in the Hebrew Bible (Books of Kings), the Phoenician wife of King Ahab of Israel, who was portrayed as a ruthless promoter of Baal worship and a symbol of moral corruption.