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Voltaire

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

noun

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


Voltaire

/ vəʊl-; vɒlˈtɛə; vɔltɛr /

noun

  1. Voltaire16941778MFrenchWRITING: writer 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


Voltaire

  1. 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 .


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Derived Forms

  • Volˈtairean, adjectivenoun

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Other Words From

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

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Example Sentences

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.

He had read Rousseau, Voltaire, and other thinkers in French society.

“Common sense is not so common,” Voltaire proclaimed three centuries ago.

Leibniz (185) and Voltaire (170) also performed well, but others gave a lackluster showing.

But she was quoting Rousseau and Voltaire in her letters when she was only 16, before she ever met the doctor.

These short studies reflect every phase of Voltaire's sparkling genius.

Voltaire exerted himself as warmly against this infamous act, as he had against the execution of Calas.

Thus Voltaire, for a mistaken purpose and with ill-judged passion, frequently cast the light of his mind on historical prejudices.

Voltaire lived from 1755 to 1758 at les Dlices near Geneva, and within Genevan territory.

Then he smiled grimly, thinking of Voltaire's cruel epigram—that "letters addressed to posterity seldom reach their destination!"

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