temptress

/ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs/

//ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"temptress" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“temptress” is uncommon English (frequency #66,343 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,343
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An alluring woman who seduces or exploits men.

Corpus desk

Index EN-temptress · temptress · English

temptress · rank #66,343 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,343
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Telfer

Nearest frequency peer: Telfer (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “temptress”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “temptress” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for temptress
PropertyValue
Headwordtemptress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#66,343
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “temptress” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).temptressfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Telfer” (#66,342), “Tewkesbury” (#66,344), “theatricality” (#66,345). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “temptress” is #66,343. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

temptress is uncommon English at frequency #66,343 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for temptress, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tempter + -ess. The correct English form is temptress, spelled T-E-M-P-T-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An alluring woman who seduces or exploits men.
  2. 2
    A woman considered sexually attractive by men.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how temptress appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Marilyn Monroe, the iconic temptress of the 20th century.

Etymology

From tempter + -ess.

Synonyms

vamp

This word in other languages

tentatrice(Français)Verführerin(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "temptress"?
"temptress" is spelled T-E-M-P-T-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs/.
What does "temptress" mean?
As a noun, "temptress" means: An alluring woman who seduces or exploits men.
How do you pronounce "temptress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "temptress" is /ˈtɛmp.tɹɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "temptress"?
From tempter + -ess. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "temptress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tormentor#66,353swindling#66,327traversal#66,360strangles#66,320

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list