Second Empire

American  

noun

1. the empire established in France (1852–70) by Louis Napoleon: the successor to the Second Republic.

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Second Empire British  

noun

1. 1. the imperial government of France under Napoleon III

   2. the period during which this government functioned (1852–70)

2. the style of furniture and decoration of the Second Empire, reviving the Empire style, but with fussier ornamentation

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Example Sentences

The since-renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, an example of French Second Empire style, is now a National Historic Landmark and considered by many to be a gem of Washington.

From Washington Post • Feb. 12, 2020

For 20th-century theorists like Theodor Adorno and Siegfried Kracauer, Offenbach was a political figure; they claimed his satire deconstructed the decadence of Second Empire Parisian society and unmasked hypocrisy.

From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2019

Paris Commune: the insurrection of Paris against the government in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war, in which France was defeated, and led to the collapse of Napoleon III’s Second Empire.

From The Guardian • Dec. 8, 2018

The great and controversial French Romantic poet and novelist — “Les Miserables,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “The Legend of the Ages” — had run afoul of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, dictator of the Second Empire.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2018

He behaved to the Second Empire as he had behaved to the July monarchy, refusing all honours and appointments.

From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George