temptress

[ temp-tris ]

noun

1. a woman who tempts, entices, or allures.

ˈtemptress

/ ˈtɛmptrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who sets out to allure or seduce a man or men; seductress

Gender Note

See -ess.

Word History and Origins

Origin of temptress¹

First recorded in 1585–95; tempt(e)r + -ess

Example Sentences

Atop a mid-tempo beat that lightly recalls the muffled retro-funk of “Say So,” the song that made Doja Cat a star, Carpenter plays the unbothered temptress with winking humor: “Say you can’t sleep, baby I know, that’s that me, espresso.”

From New York Times

Instead of sliding into obscurity, the Mona Lisa becomes a temptress.

From Literature

For nigh on 50 years, she has been cast as the villainess who broke up the group, the evil temptress who cast a spell on John Lennon, married him and proceeded to tear the time-eclipsing rock band asunder.

From Salon

That movie, now rightly recognized as a masterpiece, had a famously rocky landing here in 2013, at Telluride’s 40th-anniversary edition, where audiences didn’t exactly warm to the disturbing, plot-free spectacle of Scarlett Johansson as an alien temptress sucking men’s bodies dry.

From Los Angeles Times

One victim was a lying, cheating boyfriend, the other his temptress.

From Seattle Times