empress
Americannoun
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the wife or widow of an emperor
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a woman who holds the rank of emperor in her own right
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a woman of great power and influence
Gender
See -ess.
Etymology
Origin of empress
1125–75; Middle English emperice, emperesse < Anglo-French; Old French emperesse, empereriz < Latin imperātrīcem, accusative of imperātrix, feminine of imperātor. See emperor, -trix
Explanation
An empress is either a female emporer or the wife of an emporer. Either way, it's a powerful woman. There are a lot of words that have gender built into them, like fireman and waitress. Another is empress, which is a female emperor. An emperor is like a king: a person with absolute power over a country. An empress is therefore like a queen. Also, just as a queen is the wife of a king, an empress might be the wife of an emperor, meaning she's not the ruler of the country but just married to the ruler.
Vocabulary lists containing empress
Chinese History - Introductory
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Japanese History - Middle School and High School
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Chinese History - Middle School and High School
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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.
While government ministers tried to turn Russia into a constitutional monarchy, Rasputin offered spiritual guidance to the czar and empress.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
The former empress was driven into exile with her husband, late pro-Western shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in January 1979 during a popular revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought the Islamic republic to power.
From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026
I had done so many things, but people probably knew me most for “Maleficent,” but it was then fun to be in “The Great” and I’m playing an empress, but she’s not the Disney version.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
A crown of the empress Eugénie was left at the scene and is being examined to see if it is damaged.
From BBC • Oct. 19, 2025
I felt like an empress on the way to school.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
