empress
Americannoun
-
the wife or widow of an emperor
-
a woman who holds the rank of emperor in her own right
-
a woman of great power and influence
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Japanese History - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Chinese History - Middle School and High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“Russia and Western Europe converged” under the empress, at least for a short while.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
In a rare interview, his mother, the former empress Farah Pahlavi told AFP from her home in Paris in written answers to questions there was "no turning back" after the wave of protests.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
Her climb from lifestyle author to homemaking empress, along with her fall and brief imprisonment, spawned endless special reports, gossip columns, parodies, and unauthorized biographies both serious and salacious.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2024
The state visit to the UK by the emperor and empress of Japan will go ahead later this month, says Buckingham Palace.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2024
She glows in her ceremonials, looking more like an empress than a Blood Shrike.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Recording from his home in Pasadena, he has played men and women of all ages, races, nationalities and abilities, as well as “postapocalyptic people living in trees and empresses of fictitious planets,” he notes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2025
The organisation has close ties with the imperial family, with previous empresses serving as honorary presidents.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2024
I postponed my research on Sims, believing him to be an altruistic outlier who could be a balm in my distressing work: someone who, according to one statue’s inscription, treated “alike empresses and slaves”.
From Nature ● Sep. 17, 2017
As explained earlier, a few empresses wielded great power.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
The records of the empresses and of their female relatives exhibit a similarity to the scandalous accounts of their predecessors which is sadly monotonous and entirely unworthy of the otherwise wonderfully improved conditions.
From Roman Women by Alfred Brittain
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.
