femme fatale

noun

femme fa·​tale ˌfem-fə-ˈtal 

ˌfam-,

-ˈtäl 

plural femmes fatales ˌfem-fə-ˈtal(z) 

ˌfam-,

-ˈtäl(z)

1

: a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations

2

: a woman who attracts men by an aura of charm and mystery

Synonyms

• siren

Examples of femme fatale in a Sentence

an actress who was often cast as cynical, sexy femmes fatales

Recent Examples on the Web

The Silent Sinner, made by Campanacci’s CampanacCinema Studios, is mostly silent — Skrzynecka’s femme fatale is both deaf and mute — relying on music and montage to hold the audience’s attention. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2025

With Lee’s custom Dior look, Anderson marries sinuous lines and sensuality with a mysterious aura quintessential to the modern femme fatale archetype. —Julia Teti, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2025

Enter the movie’s loose equivalent of a femme fatale, Fala Chen (Dao Ming), who lends money to losers at exorbitant rates, but sees something in Doyle that, frankly, the rest of us don’t. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025

From femme fatale to romantic leading lady, Margot Robbie finally got a chance to work with Colin Farrell. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, disastrous woman

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for femme fatale

• duopoly
• melancholy
• pulmonale
• triticale
• akali
• bengali
• diwali
• loblolly
• naphtali
• nepali
• secale
• somali