Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

femme fatale

/fɛm fəˈtæl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables: fem-me -fa-tale
IPA: /fɛm fəˈtæl/

21

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An attractive and seductive but ultimately dangerous woman.

Example Sentences

"Cause everybody knows (She's a femme fatale) / The things she does to please (She's a femme fatale)"
"Aren't you ever gonna stop deluding yourself, hmm? Handling Max? Behaving like some ludicrous little underage femme fatale? You're… you're about as fatale as an after dinner mint!"

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French femme fatale (literally “deadly woman”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /fɛm fəˈtæl/
British English: /fɛm fəˈtɑːl/

Inflected Forms

femmes fatales (plural) femme fatales (plural)

Phrases

femme fatale firefly femme fatale lightning beetle femme fatale lightning bug

Frequently Paired Words

succubus fille fatale homme fatal

Synonyms

vamp enchantress femme fatale man-eater mantrap seductress she-wolf siren temptress vixen wolfess

Antonyms

ingenue

Questions

How do you pronounce femme fatale?: The recorded pronunciation is /fɛm fəˈtæl/.
What does femme fatale mean?: An attractive and seductive but ultimately dangerous woman.
Where does femme fatale come from?: Unadapted borrowing from French femme fatale (literally “deadly woman”).

How to pronounce femme fatale

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “femme fatale”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fɛm fəˈtæl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “femme fatale”.
Repeat and practice — Say “femme fatale” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.