Electra

[ ih-lek-truh ]

/ ɪˈlɛk trə /

Save This Word!

noun

Also E·lek·tra .Classical Mythology. the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who incited her brother Orestes to kill Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.

Astronomy. one of the six visible stars in the Pleiades.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby Electra

electoral, electoral college, electoral vote, electorate, electr-, Electra, Electra complex, Electra paradox, electress, electret, electric

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Electra in a sentence

Her father, the Freudian practitioner, explains she clearly has an “Electra complex,” “she was really in love with him and wanted to marry him and there was no point in denying it.”
Susan Taubes’s recently reissued ‘Divorcing’ is as haunting as ever|Scott Cheshire|October 29, 2020|Washington Post
He changed his name to Ronnie Rocket, becomes a bona fide rock star, and attracts a fetching tap-dancer, Electra-Cute.
Doomed Passion Projects of Hollywood: The Lost Classics of Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, and More|Marlow Stern|March 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
People are still hunting for her and her Lockheed Electra today.
How Flight 370 Could Have Become a Zombie|Clive Irving|March 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Stay: The Electra Hotel is located only few blocks from the beach in Stavros, in the heart of the town.
Nine Amazing Places To Skinny Dip Around The World|Erin Cunningham|September 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I have already referred to the phenomenal success of Perez Galdós's Electra within the last few months.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
Electra says when she pours a libation: "This drink has penetrated the earth; my father has received it" (Choephorœ, 162).
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot
Electra's Glories, and her injur'd Bed; and the two following Lines.
The Preface to the Aeneis of Virgil (1718)|Joseph Trapp
On his faithful friend Pylades he bestowed the hand of his beloved sister, the good and faithful Electra.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome|E.M. Berens
Even Strauss's "Electra" is founded on carefully considered rules; his discords are not accidents.
Confessions of a Book-Lover|Maurice Francis Egan

British Dictionary definitions for Electra

Electra

/ (ɪˈlɛktrə) /

noun

Greek myth the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. She persuaded her brother Orestes to avenge their father by killing his murderess Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus

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

Cultural definitions for Electra

Electra

In classical mythology, a daughter of Agamemnon. To avenge his death, she helped her brother, Orestes, kill their mother and her lover.

notes for Electra

The “Electra complex” in psychology involves a girl's or woman's unconscious sexual feelings for her father.