Meaning & use
testatrix
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablelegalold-fashioned
A woman who has made a will, particularly one who has died and left it behind.
Grammar: A female-specific legal term; the plural is testatrices or testatrixes.
Patterns
- the testatrix of something
The court read the will aloud to confirm the wishes of the testatrix.
The testatrix left her house to her niece.
Witnesses saw the testatrix sign the document in 1998.
Word forms
| plural | testatrices or testatrixes |
|---|
Common combinations
- the testatrix's wishes
- The executor followed the testatrix's wishes exactly.
- the testatrix's intention
- The judge tried to understand the testatrix's intention.
- the testatrix died
- The testatrix died shortly after signing.
- the testatrix signed
- The testatrix signed the will in front of two witnesses.
Synonyms and how they differ
- testator
- Testator is the standard form and is now used for women as well, so it is the safer choice in modern writing.
- will-maker
- Will-maker is plain English for either gender and not a formal legal term.
- deceased
- Deceased only says the person has died and does not say that she made a will.
Word family
- testator noun
- the male or general form of the word
- testament noun
- a will
- testamentary adjective
- relating to a will
- testate adjective
- having made a will
- intestate adjective
- without a valid will
Commonly confused: testatrix or executrix?
testatrix vs executrix
An executrix is a woman chosen to carry out the terms of a will, while the testatrix is the woman who made it.
Practice
The woman who wrote the will and then passed away is called the ___.
Choose one answer.
A testatrix is the woman who makes a will. An executrix carries it out, and a beneficiary receives something under it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “testatrix”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.