femme fatale

[ fem fuh-tal, -tahl, fey-; French fam fa-tal ]

noun

, plural femmes fa·tales [fem f, uh, -, talz, -, tahlz, fey-, f, a, m f, a, -, tal].

1. an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren.

femme fatale

/ ˈfɛm fəˈtæl; fam fatal; -ˈtɑːl /

noun

1. an alluring or seductive woman, esp one who causes men to love her to their own distress

Word History and Origins

Origin of femme fatale¹

< French: literally, fatal woman

Word History and Origins

Origin of femme fatale¹

fatal woman

Example Sentences

Her performance adds an additional layer of mystery in that it is never quite clear whether she is a manipulative femme fatale, a damsel in distress or a woman just trying to figure herself out.

From Los Angeles Times

Enter the femme fatale at the edge of the pool.

From Los Angeles Times

Jazz greats Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong gave their own sentimentalized retelling of their nomadic existence from the 1930s onward, portraying the jaunts as being as amorous as they were glamorous, a veritable luxury cruise along bucolic byways jammed with adulatory fans and a femme fatale or two.

From Los Angeles Times

But Mina adds an adventurous touch, choosing to explore the figure of Anne Riordan, a former police chief’s daughter who stands out as not just another femme fatale or “blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window,” as Chandler describes a character in “Farewell, My Lovely.”

From Los Angeles Times

Does Baron’s naïveté mean he is on the list of cinematic dimwits who have never seen a movie with a femme fatale?

From New York Times

Related Words

• courtesan
• temptress
• vamp