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Webster 1913 Edition


Actress

Acˊtress

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
actrice
.]
1.
A female actor or doer.
[Obs.]
Cockeram.
2.
A female stageplayer; a woman who acts a part.

Webster 1828 Edition


Actress

ACT'RESS

,
Noun.
A female who acts or performs, and especially, on the stage, or in a play.

Definition 2024


actress

actress

English

Alternative forms

Noun

actress (plural actresses, masculine actor)

  1. (now rare) A female doer or "actor" (in a general sense). [from 16th c.]
    • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 290:
      My mental anguish, and the dreadful scenes in which I had been an actress, advanced the period of my labour.
  2. A female who performs on the stage or in films. [from 17th c.]
    • 2011, "Not going quietly", The Economist, 27 Jan 2011:
      Court documents appear to show that Ian Edmondson, a senior News of the World journalist, had authorised Mr Mulcaire to hack phones belonging to Sienna Miller, an actress.

Usage notes

  • Actor may also be used to refer to a female player.

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