femme fatale
Lethal alluring woman
A femme fatale is an attractive woman who leads men into dangerous or compromising situations.
The term, borrowed from French, literally means "fatal woman" and appears most often in discussions of film noir and pulp fiction, where the character type flourished.
The femme fatale uses her sexuality and charm to manipulate men, typically for personal gain, often leaving destruction in her wake.
She played the classic femme fatale, luring the detective into a web of lies.
Woman who entices romantically
- temptressWoman who entices
- sirenWailing alert device
- vampAlluring seductress
- enchantressWoman who uses sorcery
vixen · maneater · black widow · Mata Hari · Delilah · Salome · Carmen · Medusa
Able to cause expiration
- lethalCausing or capable of death
- treacherousDisloyal and dangerous
- perilousFraught with danger
- venomousProducing injected toxins
ruthless · cunning · scheming · duplicitous · manipulative · deceitful · calculating · predatory
Tough, cynical fiction style
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- neo-noirRevived hardboiled crime genre
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
nightclub · shadowy · double-cross · cigarette holder · trench coat · revolver · Barbara Stanwyck · Lauren Bacall
Powerfully attractive, tempting
- bewitchingPowerfully and mysteriously charming
- captivatingDeeply holding one's attention
- mesmerizingCompletely capturing one's attention
- irresistibleImpossible to withstand
beguiling · enticing · sultry · glamorous · provocative · voluptuous · smoldering · mysterious
Puzzling and obscure
- veiledConcealed or obscured
- elusiveHard to find
- secretiveInclined to conceal
- shadowyObscured by darkness
sphinx-like · unknowable · hidden · ambiguous · intriguing · clandestine · covert · disguised
seductress
Woman who entices romantically
enchantress · vixen · maneater · black widow · Mata Hari · Delilah · Salome · Carmen · Medusa · Circe
deadly
Able to cause expiration
- lethalCausing or capable of death
- treacherousDisloyal and dangerous
- perilousFraught with danger
venomous · ruthless · cunning · scheming · duplicitous · manipulative · deceitful · calculating · predatory · entrapment
hardboiled
Tough, cynical fiction style
- detectiveProfessional crime investigator
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- neo-noirRevived hardboiled crime genre
smoky · nightclub · shadowy · double-cross · cigarette holder · trench coat · revolver · Barbara Stanwyck · Lauren Bacall · Rita Hayworth
seductive
Powerfully attractive, tempting
- bewitchingPowerfully and mysteriously charming
- captivatingDeeply holding one's attention
- mesmerizingCompletely capturing one's attention
irresistible · beguiling · enticing · sultry · glamorous · provocative · voluptuous · smoldering · mysterious · enigmatic
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
shadowy · sphinx-like · unknowable · hidden · ambiguous · intriguing · clandestine · covert · disguised · double life
- femme fatalesseductress, temptress, vixen, enchantress, siren
- crime fictiondetective fiction, murder mystery, detective novels, detective novel, detective
- French Loanwordsa la carte, ballet, a la mode, au revoir, bon appetit
- mysteryclue, detective, suspect, clues, sleuth
- Spy Fictionspy, secret agent, double agent, MI6, CIA
- action filmschase scene, car chase, explosion, stunt, shootout
femme fataleingenue
Artless young woman
innocent · virgin · girl next door · naif · damsel in distress
femme fatalehelpmate
Supportive life partner
rescuer · guardian angel · protector · savior · safe harbor
fatal, feminine, feminism, femininity, fatality, femme, fatalism, effeminate, feminist