temptress

American  

[temp-tris] / ˈtɛmp trɪs /

noun

• temptresses
  plural

1. a woman who tempts, entices, or allures.

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temptress British  

/ ˈtɛmptrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who sets out to allure or seduce a man or men; seductress

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Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• temptresses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of temptress

First recorded in 1585–95; tempt(e)r + -ess

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

temptress temptresses

And in an era where women were forced into gendered stereotypes – housewife, temptress, fallen woman, mixed-up girl – she satirised and sent up those roles, playing them to the hilt while emphasising her strength.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Demetriou’s vacillation between annoyed den mother and over-the-top temptress provides a wonderful balance to Berry’s consistently melodramatic Lazlo, who takes bestial form by bellowing out, “baaaaAAAAT” even though this is obviously a highly unnecessary flourish..

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2019

On Dec. 4, at 18, she made her Met debut as the temptress Philine in Ambroise Thomas’s “Mignon,” wearing a good-luck ring and a crown lent to her by the soprano Lily Pons.

From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2016

Fortunately, the hovering red Pokémon figure isn’t actually in the book store, but I still feel like an idiot standing outside peering through the phone’s camera with no idea how to capture the virtual temptress.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2016

“And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Late in 2021, Wallen was featured on a hip-hop single by the rapper Lil Durk, “Broadway Girls,” singing about the temptresses of Nashville’s Lower Broadway honky-tonks.

From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

Through their story, Miller and Wheeler aim to re-shape the legend of King Arthur by placing women in positions of power as opposed to relegating them to mere objects of desire or sinister temptresses.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2020

But the male figures in the Theranos narrative have a whole lot in common with men as #MeToo’s opponents often present them — hapless prey taken for a ride by opportunists or temptresses.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2019

Of all the temptresses in Dark Shadows, Green most acutely understands how to play for both humor and horror.

From Time ● May 10, 2012

Odysseus filled the ears of his crews with wax, bidding them to tie him to the mast of his ship and to row hard past the temptresses in spite of his strugglings.

From Authors of Greece by T. W. Lumb