Phaedra

American

[fee-druh, fed-ruh] / ˈfi drə, ˈfɛd rə /

noun

Classical Mythology.

the wife of Theseus who fell in love with Hippolytus, her stepson, and eventually hanged herself after causing his death.

Phaedra British

/ ˈfiːdrə /

noun

Greek myth the wife of Theseus, who falsely accused her stepson Hippolytus of raping her and then hanged herself because he spurned her amorous advances

"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

Example Sentences

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Phaedra

“When Phaedra asked Kate to become a traitor, she was in this dungeon. It was a discovery we didn’t realize was underground. We’d walked over it for a whole year.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2025

Other “DWTS” competitors include “The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s” Phaedra Parks and Delvey’s soon-to-be dance partner Ezra Sosa.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2024

Also on the dancefloor will be Oscar nominee Eric Roberts and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024

McTeer plays Helen, an anxious modern-day politician undone by love, as Phaedra was before her.

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023

So matters stood when Theseus came to his old home bringing Phaedra with him.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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