actress
Americannoun
noun
-
a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
-
informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others
Usage
Use of the word actress to refer to a female who acts is old-fashioned. The modern gender-neutral form is actor
Gender
What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.
Etymology
Origin of actress
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The US actress appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical last year, and made headlines for leaving the stage during each performance to perform Don't Cry For Me Argentina to the general public.
From BBC
The actress plays a professor who falls for a new faculty member as her husband becomes mired in scandal in this shaky eight-part series.
Byrne, a native of the greater Sydney area, is vying for the best actress Oscar this month for her powerhouse role as an overwhelmed mother in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You".
From Barron's
Created by López to honor the legendary Mexican American actress, the award is bestowed to a filmmaker whose work amplifies Latino voices.
From Los Angeles Times
“She was beautiful inside and out: a model, actress, producer, animal lover, warm and weird in the best way possible,” writer and friend Merle Ginsberg wrote Sunday on social media.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
