malefactress

American

[mal-uh-fak-tris] / ˈmæl əˌfæk trɪs /

noun

a woman who violates the law or does evil.

Gender

See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of malefactress

First recorded in 1640–50; malefact(o)r + -ess

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:

malefactress

Bloody Mary has been transfigured into a tragic and poetic malefactress: but only by the most audacious and magnificent defiance of history and possibility.

From The Age of Shakespeare by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023