femme fatale

noun

ˌfem-fə-ˈtal How to pronounce femme fatale (audio)
Definition of femme fatalenext
as in siren
a woman whom men find irresistibly attractive an actress who was often cast as cynical, sexy femmes fatales

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of femme fatale Within a decade of Mahler’s death, Mahler-Werfel had acquired a reputation as a femme fatale, a sort of intellectual dominatrix. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 Alice, Lost Highway Playing double duty as both Renee Madison and Alice Wakefield in 1997’s head-spinning Lost Highway, Patricia Arquette delivers a killer performance of another Lynch femme fatale with a twist. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 17 Jan. 2025 One of her best sellers, the Na Me Cause Am t-shirt, features a Black woman femme fatale with an afro as the subject. — Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 31 Oct. 2024 Hit Man ultimately is about Gary's romance with another potential paycheck (Adria Arjona), who has some of the enticingly dangerous appeal of a femme fatale out of a James M. Cain thriller. — Tom Gliatto, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for femme fatale

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“Femme fatale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/femme%20fatale. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

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