Voltaire

[ vohl-tair, vol-; French vawl-ter ]

noun
  1. François Marie Arouet, 1694–1778, French philosopher, historian, satirist, dramatist, and essayist.

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Other words from Voltaire

  • Vol·tair·e·an, Vol·tair·i·an, adjective, noun

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British Dictionary definitions for Voltaire

Voltaire

/ (vɒlˈtɛə, vəʊl-, French vɔltɛr) /


noun
  1. pseudonym of François Marie Arouet. 1694–1778, French writer, whose outspoken belief in religious, political, and social liberty made him the embodiment of the 18th-century Enlightenment. His major works include Lettres philosophiques (1734) and the satire Candide (1759). He also wrote plays, such as Zaïre (1732), poems, and scientific studies. He suffered several periods of banishment for his radical views

Derived forms of Voltaire

  • Voltairean or Voltairian, adjective, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Voltaire

Voltaire

[ (vohl-tair, vol-tair) ]


The nom de plume of François Arouet, an eighteenth-century French philosopher and author and a major figure of the Enlightenment. Voltaire was known as a wit and freethinker. The most famous of his works is Candide.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.