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

In The Naked Gun, a sequel-reboot to the crime spoofs of the 1980s and ’90s starring Leslie Nielsen, Anderson plays femme fatale Beth. —Jack Smart, People.com, 18 June 2025

YouTube/Paramount Pictures Pamela Anderson plays a sultry femme fatale. —ArsTechnica, 16 June 2025

To walk us through the collection, from femme fatale inspirations to new key styles for the season, Coco Fong and Valerio Bava, co-creative directors, share the story behind the new line. —Felicity Carter, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025

At least there’s one constant: the world has a new icon of thirst with The Duchess, a femme fatale even more alluringly deadly than Resident Evil Village’s Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. —Matt Gardner, Forbes, 6 Mar. 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