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Definition of songstress

songstress

/ˈsɔːŋ.strəs/
song · stress
Plural:songstresses
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songstress Lexical Profile

songstress Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

A female singer, especially a professional vocalist in popular music, jazz, or opera.

Example

"The jazz songstress captivated the audience with her soulful rendition of the classic ballad."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for songstress

Word Nuance & Usage

Like many gender-specific occupational nouns ending in '-ess', 'songstress' is primarily used in entertainment journalism or older literature; in general modern contexts, gender-neutral 'singer' or 'vocalist' is usually preferred.

• Nearby Words

songsheet
songsmith
songster
songstress
songwriter
songwriting
sonic

Word Origin & Etymology

Formed in Middle English as 'songster' (from Old English 'sangestre', a female singer) with the later addition of the French-derived feminine suffix '-ess' after '-ster' lost its exclusively feminine sense, making it a historical double feminine.

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Songstress. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/songstress
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