dominatrix

noun

do·​mi·​na·​trix ˌdä-mi-ˈnā-triks How to pronounce dominatrix (audio)
plural dominatrices ˌdä-mi-ˈnā-trə-sēz How to pronounce dominatrix (audio)
-nə-ˈtrī-sēz
also dominatrixes
: a woman who physically or psychologically dominates her partner in a sadomasochistic encounter
broadly : a dominating woman

Examples of dominatrix in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sriram stars in her 16mm debut as AP, a fun-loving dominatrix who learns from a tarot reader (Big Freedia) that she’s been cursed, and the only way to lift the curse is to come up with $1,000 and sacrifice a baby lamb. Glenn Garner, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025 Within a decade of Mahler’s death, Mahler-Werfel had acquired a reputation as a femme fatale, a sort of intellectual dominatrix. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 On his head is a bucket hat rife with mushrooms and aliens, psychedelic motifs that on a sober person are more or less the sartorial equivalent of a priest dressed as a dominatrix. Barrett Swanson, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 And when the women in their lives get involved — one pregnant wife and one a dominatrix — the stakes skyrocket. Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for dominatrix

Word History

Etymology

Latin, feminine of dominator

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dominatrix was in 1971

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Cite this Entry

“Dominatrix.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dominatrix. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

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