goddess
Americannoun
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goddesses
plural
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a female god or deity.
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Also called Triple Goddess. Goddess. (in Neopaganism) a triune female deity whose individual forms represent the different phases of life and growth.
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a woman of extraordinary beauty and charm.
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a greatly admired or adored woman.
a domestic goddess who hosts lavish dinner parties.
noun
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a female divinity
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a woman who is adored or idealized, esp by a man
Gender
See -ess .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of goddess
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at god , -ess
Explanation
In mythology, a goddess is a female god. Aphrodite, for example, is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Many religions have female deities or goddesses, including the ancient Romans and Greeks, traditional African religions, and Hinduism. Some well-known goddesses include Juno, Gaia, and Lakshmi. If you know a woman who seems as beautiful, powerful, or amazing as a god, you can also call her a goddess. Using the word for mortals first came into fashion in the late 16th century.
Vocabulary lists containing goddess
World Religions
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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The Stone Age - 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.
See Examples For:
Another key trend identified by Kotsoni's team is the idea of the modern goddess - a take on the styles of Ancient Greece and a nod to Christopher Nolan's hit film The Odyssey this summer.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Its three plexiglass vaults hold ghostly symbols of procreation: an irradiated vortex, the fertility goddess Hera, a DNA spiral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
The future of the imperial household -- mythically descended from the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu -- depends currently on Prince Hisahito, the 19-year-old nephew of Emperor Naruhito, 66.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The other actor whose presence deeply impacted the production, Nolan reports, is Samantha Morton, mesmerizing as Circe, the goddess who changes Odysseus’ men into swine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
“My brother is many things,” said the goddess.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
“The exhibitions trace the evolution of human culture through storytelling, from ancient sculptures of gods and goddesses to Renaissance paintings to photographs, comics and modern cinema,” the release says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Millennial women, raised on platitudes that one person could change the world, really tried—and some of them, thank the goddesses, succeeded.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
Exquisite, also, is a grouping of several soft-paste-biscuit tabletop figurines—classical and idyllic scenes depicting lovers, children, goddesses and bathers, all designed by Boucher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
It treats its female protagonists like full human beings instead of objects, or girlbossed-beyond-personhood goddesses, or a pile of tropes that AI would compile.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2025
"I suppose it makes sense that the goddesses of war and death would be sisters," I said.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
