actress
Americannoun
noun
-
a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
-
informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others
Usage
Use of the word actress to refer to a female who acts is old-fashioned. The modern gender-neutral form is actor
Gender
What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of actress
Vocabulary lists containing actress
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:
Shatner and Nichelle Nichols, a Black actress who played Lieutenant Uhura, made history in 1968 with one of the first interracial kisses ever seen on US television.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Niblett says she has also received support from people working within the NHS and the probation service, as well as high-profile figures like actress Emma Thompson.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Nicolas Winding Refn directs this inscrutable yet mesmerizing thriller that follows the converging stories of an actress, an American G.I., and a mysterious murderer called the Leather Man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Directed by Damien Chazelle, “La La Land” was nominated for 14 Oscars, winning six, including lead actress for Stone and director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Everybody in town said Lord help Loma if she ends up an actress.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
His nuanced supporting work allowed some of the greatest actresses of their moment attain their first fireworks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
"I always sort of go back to classic actresses in the way that they could sort of toe a line between extreme femininity and just rock hard will and grit," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Many actresses warrant other titles, and there should be spaces for those, too.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
The two actresses make for a smashing comic duo in this production of the Noël Coward play about two women eager to rekindle a romance with the same French lothario.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
I know the names of the actors and actresses of all the shows, what time each program comes on, which channel, and which shows are repeats.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
