actress
Americannoun
noun
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a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
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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
Vocabulary lists containing 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 English actress is having a blockbuster year, between reprising her breakout role and starring in Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day.’
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
In 2023, the actress opened up to the outlet about the process of buying her first home when she was just 20 years old and starring in the hit sci-fi series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
In 2017, the actress was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 2023, she was awarded the Bafta Fellowship, the British Academy's highest accolade for a career on screen.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Some veterans, like actress Madhuri Dixit, frame the issue as a personal choice rather than a structural problem.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Yet Nehemia could easily be a cunning actress.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
