femme fatale

noun femme fa·tale \ ˌfem-fə-ˈtal , ˌfam- , -ˈtäl \

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

Examples: femme fatale in a Sentence

Definition of femme fatale

plural femmes fatales play \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

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Examples of femme fatale in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of femme fatale from the Web

The song follows a simple narrative of Drake, yet again, getting into a qualm with a femme fatale -- a subject MJ definitely knew a thing or two about.

— scott glaysher, Billboard, "Ranking Each Song From the B-Side of Drake's 'Scorpion' Album: Critic's Take," 30 June 2018
Next up, Lili reacted to a Dark Betty tutorial, in which artist Bronte Jones reimagines her alter-ego's look with the help of color contacts, a black cat-eye, and a glossy, femme fatale red lip.

— zoë weiner, Teen Vogue, "Lili Reinhart Reacts to Riverdale Betty Cooper Makeup Tutorials," 27 June 2018
But perhaps also like a femme fatale, she can be tamed, and then, like a damsel in distress, rescued, thanks to Alex’s resources and his apparently unlimited forgiveness and generosity.

— lily janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, "Actors keep mediocre ‘Heisenberg’ aloft at ACT," 22 Mar. 2018
The plot was thwarted by Batman, but the femme fatale may have stolen his heart.

— george gene gustines, New York Times, "It Just Wasn’t Meant to Be, Batman," 1 July 2018
She was often cast as the femme fatale or villain, including the mastermind in 1946's Dressed to Kill, sparring with Sherlock Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone.

— mark kennedy and andrew dalton, USA TODAY, "Patricia Morison, the original 'Kiss Me, Kate' star, dies at 103," 20 May 2018
Lisa Nicole Carson, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Beals as the mysterious femme fatale, Daphne Monet, co-star.

— kathleen craughwell, latimes.com, "The Moviegoer, April 29-May 5," 27 Apr. 2018
As the star studded Cannes Film Festival builds to a triumphant crescendo this weekend, It-girls and actresses are raising the stakes on their big night beauty signatures—from navy smoky eyes to femme fatale inspired dye jobs.

— jenna rennert, Vogue, "How a Victoria's Secret Model Takes Red Carpet Hair to The Pool," 17 May 2018
Seyfried’s mysterious hacker bears all the hallmark tropes of a femme fatale.

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "Netflix’s Anon is an augmented reality neo-noir nightmare," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'femme fatale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of femme fatale

French, literally, disastrous woman

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1912

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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FEMME FATALE Defined for English Language Learners

femme fatale

noun

Definition of femme fatale for English Language Learners

: a very attractive woman who causes trouble or unhappiness for the men who become involved with her

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femme fatale

Definition of femme fatale

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FEMME FATALE Defined for English Language Learners

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