Voltaire

[ vohl-tair, vol-; French vawl-ter ]
/ voʊlˈtɛər, vɒl-; French vɔlˈtɛr /

noun

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

OTHER WORDS FROM Voltaire

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

Example sentences from the Web for voltaire

British Dictionary definitions for voltaire

Voltaire
/ (vɒlˈtɛə, vəʊl-, French vɔltɛr) /

noun

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

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.