soubrette
- noun
- /suːˈbrɛt/
- Jargon
- Dressed in a vibrant costume, the young soubrette captivated the audience with her lively performance.
Examples
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In the opera, the charming soubrette stole the spotlight with her playful antics.
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The soubrette often engages in flirtatious exchanges with the leading man on stage.
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In me you see the sweet soubrette
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Regarding the derivation of the word soubrette...
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You go and tell them about the interesting derivation of the word "soubrette."
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She intended to be a music hall soubrette in New York, thereby making herself available to rich men from the audience.
Fiction book (1993) -
A soubrette.
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Raoul and the soubrette, entwined in love's duet!
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But the cheap surroundings were, in fact, as delightful as a Turkish harem because of the occupant of the cottage, an aspiring soubrette named Liza.
Fiction book (1993) -
In Act One, we meet Annie (soprano), who was Countess Anna in Vienna, and her lady's maid and "sidekick" Gertie, who was Gretchen in Vienna (soubrette).
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
A person who behaves playfully to attract romantic interest
A woman who flirts playfully to attract attention
A person who acts playfully to show they like someone
A woman who teases and flirts in a lively, fun way
A woman who teases people in a playful, attractive way
Antonyms
- Offensive
A person who feels embarrassed by sexual talk and likes to act in a modest way
How Flirtatious
Surface Forms
Etymology
Soubrette comes from French and originally meant a 'little maid' or female servant, a small helper in a household. On the stage this became the name for the lively, cheeky maid character, so today a soubrette is a playful, flirtatious young woman often used for comic effect.