femme fatale

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femme fa·tale

(fĕm′ fə-tăl′, -täl′, făm′)

n. pl. femmes fa·tales (fĕm′ fə-tăl′, -tălz′, -täl′, -tälz′, făm′)

An alluring and seductive woman, especially one who leads men into compromising and dangerous situations.

[French : femme, woman + fatale, deadly.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

femme fatale

(fam fatal; English ˈfɛm fəˈtæl; -ˈtɑːl)

n, pl femmes fatales (fam fatal; English ˈfɛm fəˈtælz; -ˈtɑːlz)

an alluring or seductive woman, esp one who causes men to love her to their own distress

[fatal woman]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

femme fa•tale

(ˌfɛm fəˈtæl, -ˈtɑl, feɪ-)

n., pl. femmes fa•tales (ˌfɛm fəˈtælz, -ˈtɑlz, feɪ-)

an irresistibly attractive woman, esp. one who leads men into danger or disaster; siren.

[< French: literally, fatal woman]

femme fatale

A French phrase meaning fatal woman, used to mean a woman who is very attractive to men and who often leads them into trouble.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

femme fatale - a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive

enchantress, temptress, Delilah, siren

adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"

femme fatale

(French)

noun seductress, siren, charmer, vamp (informal), Circe, enchantress the allure of the femme fatale

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

femme fatale

noun

A usually unscrupulous woman who seduces or exploits men:

enchantress, seductress, siren, temptress.

Informal: vamp, witch.

Translations

femme fatale

n pl <femmes fatales> → Femme fatale f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

femme fatale

[ˈfɛmfəˈtæl] n → donna fatale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in periodicals archive ?

And when it comes to lotions and potions, the sweet and sexy Sultry Tangerine Tango range from Femme Fatale is high on our list of favourites.

Tried and tested

Symbol and symptom; the femme fatale in English poetry of the 19th century and feminist criticism.

Symbol and symptom; the femme fatale in English poetry of the 19th century and feminist criticism

Art historian Elizabeth Menon examines turn of the twentieth Century depictions of the femme fatale in various forms of popular print media (literature, illustrated journals, and advertisements) to show how they, in turn, influenced the Salon paintings of the time.

Evil by Design: The Creation and Marketing of the Femme Fatale

He even manages to make an American femme fatale sound like an American femme fatale, no mean feat for a British baritone.

Priest, Christopher. The prestige

Everything goes hourglass shaped when the story's femme fatale, Neola Durwin, enters the picture.

Meter Made

The tough, cynical private eye that may not be as crooked as he seems, the intricate plot, the femme fatale, the outsized villains, the object of lust and desire--it's all here.

My favorite mysteries

September 15 (Universal) Noir is back: Femme fatale Hitary Swank recounts a sapphic past with Mia Kirshner in Brian De Palma's new thriller about one of Los Angeles's most notorious true crimes.

Hot picks

He covered kennelmate Femme Fatale while taking a break to recover from toe and wrist injuries.

Dog Racing: Tale of no tail, and a dog to Fear all!

George at Asda's new collection includes the black lace Femme Fatale set, pounds 14, and French Fancy frilly set pounds 15.

retail therapy/stuff: By George

McLaren, The Chinese Femme Fatale: Stories from the Ming Period, University of Sydney East Asian Series Number 8, Australia: Wild Peony, 1994.

Anne E. McLaren, The Chinese Femme Fatale: Stories from the Ming Period

Years ago, Gilles Carle, another veteran of the Quebec movie scene who directed the historical romance Maria Chapdelaine in 1982, and Richard Goudreau were developing a movie about a legendary Quebecois femme fatale known as La Corriveau.