Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • In the Bible, a mistress of Samson who betrayed him to the Philistines by having his hair shorn while he slept, thus depriving him of his strength.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The mistress of Samson, who betrayed him (Judges xvi.); hence, a harlot; a temptress.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun biblical The mistress of Samson who betrays him to the Philistines.
  • proper noun A beautiful, cunning and treacherous woman; a femme fatale.
  • proper noun A female given name of biblical origin.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
  • noun (Old Testament) the Philistine mistress of Samson who betrayed him by cutting off his hair and so deprived him of his strength

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Of uncertain Hebrew origin, often defined as meaning "delightful, seductive".

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Examples

  • SAMSON AND DELILAH 1949 Lamarr ' s last really great film, made in glorious Technicolor, gave her the role she was born to play: Delilah, the Bible temptress who is the undoing of Samson.

    Her Face Was Her Misfortune Jeanine Basinger 2010

  • And Delilah is clad, it is true, in what used to be called a dress with a plunging neckline -- very plunging.

    The Modern Commonwealth 1967

  • The name Delilah is fitly used to describe those who with flattery bring destruction on those whom they pretend to love.

    The Woman's Bible Elizabeth Cady Stanton 1858

  • The Diary of a Geek in Oxfordshire: 'Delilah' - a Rebuttal skip to main | skip to sidebar

    'Delilah' - a Rebuttal Dungeekin 2009

  • But otherwise, this is a "Delilah" - free zone, suggesting that Jones sees his new record as standing apart from his more famous body of work.

    Tom Jones 2010

  • He decided it would not be a complete casino show without a Tom Jones song, so he ripped into 'Delilah' - it was really funny.

    Pollstar Photo RSS Feed 2009

  • Everyone's favorite metal airline pilot takes on Tom Jones '"Delilah" - and kills it.

    INVISIBLE ORANGES - THE METAL MP3 BLOG 2008

  • Everyone's favorite metal airline pilot takes on Tom Jones '"Delilah" - and kills it.

    INVISIBLE ORANGES - THE METAL MP3 BLOG 2008

  • Although the book is called Delilah, it is told in multiple viewpoints.

    Interview and Giveaway with Delilah author India Edghill Elizabeth Kerri Mahon 2009

  • Although the book is called Delilah, it is told in multiple viewpoints.

    Archive 2009-11-01 Elizabeth Kerri Mahon 2009

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