adventuress

noun

ad·​ven·​tur·​ess əd-ˈven-ch(ə-)rəs How to pronounce adventuress (audio)
: a female adventurer: such as
a
: a woman who seeks dangerous or exciting experiences
b
somewhat old-fashioned : a woman who seeks position or livelihood by questionable means

Examples of adventuress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Babitz’s gleefully debaucherous memoir captures her teen years as a glamour-mad adventuress pinballing around a town full of kooks. Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024 Dempsey was a creative type, the sort of searcher who, in the Gilded Age, was known as an adventuress. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2023 Eliza’s urge to find the truth behind the disappearances begins with a literary argument with her friend Jean, a cross-dressing prostitute and adventuress who services women. Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022 Her heroine, Angela Lovemore—that’s Dr. Lovemore to you—is an adventuress with beauty and brains. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 24 Mar. 2022 Jenna Coleman, already a veteran of storied nerd franchise Doctor Who, will play Lady Johanna Constantine, an 18th-century occult adventuress and ancestor of John Constantine. Christian Holub, EW.com, 26 May 2021 Noelline is judged a successful adventuress, but Pianon is thought a double fool for having taken her back. Andrea Lee, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2020 Lewd women, bawds and adventuresses were not welcome in courts, nor were prostitutes or immoral characters. Clement Knox, Time, 4 Feb. 2020 In 1871 an English adventuress named Lucy Walker became the first woman to summit the mountain. Mark Jenkins, National Geographic, 1 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adventuress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

adventure entry 1 + -ess

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adventuress was in 1707

Dictionary Entries Near adventuress

Cite this Entry

“Adventuress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adventuress. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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