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Synonyms

actress

American  
[ak-tris] / ˈæk trɪs /

noun

  1. a woman who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, television broadcasts, etc., especially professionally.

actress British  
/ ˈæktrɪs /

noun

  1. a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc

  2. informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

First recorded in 1580–90; act(o)r + -ess

Vocabulary lists containing actress

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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.

Sarah “Sally” Snyder, a young, struggling actress, was found dead in a New York City apartment on the eve of her 22nd birthday, about two weeks before Christmas 1973.

From Slate • May 5, 2026

From actress Zoe Kravitz, who worked on the committee with him, to supermodel Kate Moss to "heated Rivalry" star Connor Storrie, the label was everywhere.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

None of the half-dozen movies Tanaka directed ranks with her best work as an actress, but each has value and suggests that her gifts ran both deep and wide.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

Moonstruck supporting actress Olympia Dukakis' statuette was stolen from her home and the thief tried to ransom it.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

I mean, sure, things were still pretty prickly between my lead actress and me.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

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.