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What Is an Actress? Meaning, Plural and Actor vs Actress
By the Wordabulary Team
If you are learning English, actress looks like an easy word, and in its main sense it is. Yet it raises questions that go beyond the meaning. Why does the word end in -ess? Why is it actress and not actoress? Is it still the right word, or should everyone be called an actor? This guide answers the question what is an actress, then explains the spelling, the plural and the choice between actor and actress.
What an actress is
Cambridge Dictionary defines actress as a woman who pretends to be someone else while performing in a film, play or television program. Dictionary.com gives a very similar definition: a woman who acts in stage plays, motion pictures and television broadcasts, especially professionally.
In plain terms, an actress is a woman whose job or hobby is performing a role in a story. She learns lines, takes on a character, and plays that character in front of an audience or a camera. The word does not say what kind of acting. A person in a school play, a soap opera or a major film can all be called an actress.
How to say it and spell it
Cambridge Dictionary gives the same pronunciation for British and American English: /ˈæk.trəs/, which sounds like AK-truss. There are two syllables, and the stress is on the first. Some people add a vowel and say AK-tuh-russ, but the standard form has two syllables.
The plural is actresses, with -es added because the word already ends in s. Say it as AK-tris-iz.
The spelling follows a small rule from the suffix, explained below. Wiktionary lists actoress as nonstandard. Write actress.
Where the word comes from
Dictionary.com records actress from the late 1500s, formed from actor plus -ess. Wiktionary notes the same formation and adds that it was probably formed independently of the Middle French actrice. The sense of a woman who performs on a stage or in films is recorded from the 1600s.
The ending -ess is a suffix that builds a female form. Wiktionary traces it from Middle English -esse, borrowed from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -issa. So an ending that looks very English has a long history through several languages. The guide to Greek and Latin roots shows how much English has taken from those two sources.
The -ess ending
English has many words made with -ess. Wiktionary lists these among its examples:
| Base word | With -ess | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| actor | actress | a woman who acts |
| prince | princess | a female member of a royal family |
| lion | lioness | a female lion |
| god | goddess | a female deity |
| duke | duchess | a woman of the rank of duke |
| tiger | tigress | a female tiger |
Wiktionary also explains the spelling change. Words that end in -tor or -ter usually drop the vowel before the suffix, so actor becomes actress and not actoress. In the same way, tiger becomes tigress. That is why the spelling looks a little odd compared with lioness.
The suffix has a second, older job as well: the wife of. A mayoress was the wife of a mayor. That use is now rare.
Actor or actress?
This is the part where usage has changed.
Cambridge Dictionary defines actor as someone who pretends to be someone else while performing and notes that the female form is also actress. Wiktionary adds a usage note: actor may also refer to a female performer. Dictionary.com goes further and says that using actress for a woman who acts is old-fashioned, and that the modern gender-neutral form is actor.
So both words are correct, and neither is an error. What differs is the effect:
- Actor is the neutral choice. It is used for anyone, and it is the default in much current writing about film and theater.
- Actress names a woman specifically. It still appears in award categories (Cambridge Dictionary's example is the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role), in older writing, and in many books and reviews.
A practical guide:
- If you are writing about a group that includes women and men, use actors.
- If you are naming a prize category that uses actress, use the category's own name.
- If you are writing about one person, and you know which word she or he prefers, use that word.
- If you do not know, actor is the safe choice.
Many other job words have followed the same path. Server has largely replaced waiter and waitress, flight attendant has replaced steward and stewardess, and host is now used for any gender. These changes are about style and respect, and they vary by country and by field, so notice the choice used by your reader or publisher.
The figurative meaning
Dictionary.com also lists an informal sense, taken from the Collins English Dictionary: a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others. For example, She is quite an actress; she cried on cue and then laughed about it. This is a comment on pretending, and it can sound unkind. Use it with care.
Cambridge Dictionary lists an old joke formula, as the actress said to the bishop, which is added to a sentence to make it sound suggestive. It is dated, and you do not need to use it.
Compound forms
Actress appears in several fixed phrases. Wiktionary lists supporting actress, character actress, voice actress and live actress. In each of these, actor can replace actress when you want a gender-neutral phrase, as in supporting actor, voice actor.
Related words about performing include performer, player, thespian, lead and understudy. Cambridge notes that thespian is a formal synonym of actor. For the way endings turn verbs into nouns, such as act to actor and action, the guide to nominalization covers a related pattern.
Quick summary of forms
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| singular | She is an actress. |
| plural | Three actresses were nominated. |
| possessive | The actress's costume was blue. |
| plural possessive | The actresses' dressing rooms are upstairs. |
| gender-neutral | The actor played a nurse. |
Practice set
- Which is the standard spelling: actoress or actress?
- What is the plural of actress?
- Which suffix makes princess from prince?
- Which word is used for a person of any gender who acts: actor or actress?
- Complete the sentence: "Three ______ were nominated for the award."
- In "She is quite an actress," does the speaker mean she performs on stage or that she pretends?
Answers: 1. Actress. 2. Actresses. 3. -ess. 4. Actor (it is the neutral form, and actress names a woman). 5. Actresses (or actors if you want a neutral word). 6. That she pretends. This is the informal figurative sense and is usually a mild criticism.
Making it stick
Make a card with three parts: the word, a one-line meaning, and the pair actor / actress with a note on which one fits your context. Add the -ess pattern as a separate card with princess, lioness and goddess as examples. Review them over a few days, as how spaced repetition works describes.
How Wordabulary fits in
Wordabulary starts with a placement assessment, then gives you practice and quizzes at your level. Word pages show a definition, an example and related forms, which helps with words like these that have both a core meaning and a usage question.