homme fatal

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English

Etymology

From French homme fatal (literally fatal man), after femme fatale.

Noun

homme fatal (plural hommes fatals)

  1. An ultimately seductive and dangerous man; a womanizer.
    Antonym: ingenu
    • 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
      However, the danger of the homme fatal, as embodied in today's boyish male hustler, is that he will leave, disappearing to other loves, other lands.
    • 2015, Samantha Lindop, Postfeminism and the Fatale Figure in Neo-Noir Cinema:
      Though mysterious, treacherous men are common characters in most Gothic works, some of the closest archetypes to the homme fatal can be found in the novels of Ann Radcliffe.