Meaning & use
femmes fatale
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Meaning
nouncountableliterary
A seductive woman who leads men into danger or ruin, especially in stories and films.
Grammar: Countable; the standard plural is 'femmes fatales', but 'femmes fatale' also appears.
Patterns
- a femme fatale
- the femme fatale of something
In the film noir, the detective is destroyed by a mysterious femme fatale.
Critics described the character as a modern femme fatale who uses charm as a weapon.
The novel's femmes fatale are not simply villains; they are survivors.
Word forms
| plural | femmes fatales |
|---|---|
| plural (nonstandard) | femmes fatale |
Common combinations
- a classic femme fatale
- She played a classic femme fatale in the 1940s-style thriller.
- portray a femme fatale
- The actress was chosen to portray a femme fatale with a hidden agenda.
- the femme fatale archetype
- The course examines the femme fatale archetype in nineteenth-century opera.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: femmes fatale or femme fatale?
femmes fatale vs femme fatale
This is the singular form; 'femmes fatale' is a plural attempt. Use 'femmes fatales' in careful writing.
Practice
In film studies, the plural of 'femme fatale' is usually written as ______.
Choose one answer.
The standard French plural is 'femmes fatales': both words take the plural -s. 'Femmes fatale' is a common but nonstandard hybrid; 'femme fatale' is singular.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “femmes fatale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.