Tocqueville

American  

[tohk-vil, tok-, tawk-veel] / ˈtoʊk vɪl, ˈtɒk-, tɔkˈvil /

noun

1. Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clérel de 1805–59, French statesman and author.

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Tocqueville British  

/ tɔkvil, ˈtɒk-, ˈtəʊkvɪl /

noun

1. Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clérel de (alɛksi ʃarl ɑ̃ri mɔris klerɛl də). 1805–59, French politician and political writer. His chief works are De la Démocratie en Amérique (1835–40) and L'Ancien régime et la révolution (1856)

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Example Sentences

As the French traveler Alexis de Tocqueville wrote nearly 200 years ago, America’s leading minds weren’t drawn to poetry, music or the arts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

But “of all the forms democratic despotism could take,” Tocqueville continues, “the worst would be to turn over all the powers of government to the hands of an irresponsible person.”

From Salon • May 17, 2025

Speakers summoned the grand ideas of figures like the Pope, Homer, Dostoyevsky, Leo Strauss, Tocqueville and Gramsci.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Ask Alexis de Tocqueville: The beating heart of American democracy is groups of people coming together to try to improve their lives and communities.

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2024

And in their final report to the government, Tocqueville and Beaumont wrote, One cannot see the prison of Sing-Sing and the system of labour which is there established without being struck by astonishment and fear.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover