jilt

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to suddenly reject or abandon a romantic partner, especially shortly before an expected marriage

   He jilted her a week before the wedding.

2. 2
   noun

   dated: a person, traditionally a woman, who capriciously rejects or abandons a lover

   The comedy portrays him as a charming jilt who leaves a trail of broken promises.

Shortened from jillet, an older term for a flirtatious or inconstant woman, related to Jill as a familiar female name. The noun first denoted a woman who cast off lovers; the verb then developed for abandoning a romantic partner and is now used regardless of gender.

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