femme fatale

American  

[fem fuh-tal, -tahl, fay-, fam fa-tal] / ˌfɛm fəˈtæl, -ˈtɑl, feɪ-, fam faˈtal /

noun

• femmes fatales
  plural

1. an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren.

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femme fatale British  

/ ˈfɛm fəˈtæl, fam fatal, -ˈtɑːl /

noun

1. an alluring or seductive woman, esp one who causes men to love her to their own distress

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• femmes fatales
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of femme fatale

< French: literally, fatal woman

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

femme fatale

Five years later, she portrayed femme fatale Eve Kendall, dangerously seducing Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's action thriller North by Northwest.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

That attitude, he says, is most notable in his scenes with Li Jun Li, whose femme fatale character Felicia “Cat” Hardy, a nightclub singer, knows more than she wants to reveal.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Ploughing a similar furrow is Israel's Noam Bettan, whose heart has been shredded by a femme fatale called Michelle.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

Mexico’s reigning pop princess is entering her femme fatale era.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026

The femme fatale must be back, Veronica Lake slinks again.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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Related Words

• courtesan
• temptress
• vamp

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