1
: the wife or widow of an emperor
2
: a woman who is the sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire
Examples of empress in a Sentence
the Emperor and Empress of Japan
Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia.
Recent Examples on the Web
Even TikTok empress Charli D’Amelio took a turn onstage, for a crowd older and smaller than her typical target demo, with her own message on mental health.
—
Alison Brower, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The vote takes place March 15-17, with the winner inaugurated in a lavish May ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace, former residence of tsars and empresses.
—Kim Hjelmgaard and Anna Nemtsova, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
In December 2022, locals took down an enormous statue of Catherine the Great, the Russian empress credited (unfairly, many Ukrainians say) as the city's founder.
—Claire Harbage, NPR, 24 Feb. 2024
Last year, Ukrainian authorities took down a statue of the Russian empress Catherine the Great in the city, as part of attempts to remove emblems of historical Russian influence in Ukraine, The Post reported.
—Jintak Han, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023
Isabelle Huppert, in a mad red wig, portrays a former empress of the silent screen, Odette Chaumette, who makes Norma Desmond look like a blushing maiden.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023
Retreat from the world Abandoned by Napoleon, the former empress retreated from public life to her private residence at Malmaison, outside Paris.
—Nathan Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023
Another drawing depicts a chicken egg sailing from darkness toward light with a small posse of ball bearings and the serene dignity of an empress.
—Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
This reference to the year the Russian empress Catherine the Great, with Prussia and Austria, annexed a third of Poland causes Dmitry to burst out in rage.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
Alison Brower, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The vote takes place March 15-17, with the winner inaugurated in a lavish May ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace, former residence of tsars and empresses.
—Kim Hjelmgaard and Anna Nemtsova, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
In December 2022, locals took down an enormous statue of Catherine the Great, the Russian empress credited (unfairly, many Ukrainians say) as the city's founder.
—Claire Harbage, NPR, 24 Feb. 2024
Last year, Ukrainian authorities took down a statue of the Russian empress Catherine the Great in the city, as part of attempts to remove emblems of historical Russian influence in Ukraine, The Post reported.
—Jintak Han, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023
Isabelle Huppert, in a mad red wig, portrays a former empress of the silent screen, Odette Chaumette, who makes Norma Desmond look like a blushing maiden.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023
Retreat from the world Abandoned by Napoleon, the former empress retreated from public life to her private residence at Malmaison, outside Paris.
—Nathan Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023
Another drawing depicts a chicken egg sailing from darkness toward light with a small posse of ball bearings and the serene dignity of an empress.
—Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
This reference to the year the Russian empress Catherine the Great, with Prussia and Austria, annexed a third of Poland causes Dmitry to burst out in rage.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'empress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near empress
Cite this Entry
“Empress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empress. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
empress
noun
em·press
ˈem-prəs 
1
: the wife or widow of an emperor
2
: a woman who is the ruler of an empire
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