ancien régime
Americannoun
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the political and social system of France before the revolution of 1789.
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the system of government during this period.
noun
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the political and social system of France before the Revolution of 1789
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a former or outdated regime
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ancien régime
First recorded in 1790–95; from French; literally, “old rule”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This wasn’t quite the little white empire-line muslin dress familiar from Jane Austen costume dramas, but it was heading that way from the exoskeleton corsetry of the ancien régime.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
It was a building that was all crisp Modernism on the outside, buttery ancien régime within.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2019
And there’s an act of transformation for everyone, which reaches beyond judgment and is actually a breakthrough in the social paralysis of the ancien régime.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2016
Everything is judged according to sacred precepts—“harmony,” “impulsion,” “self-carriage,” “submission”—that have come down intact from the ancien régime.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 1, 2016
It is this which gave rise to that ancient society, called ancien régime, which preceded the French Revolution.
From Elements of Morals With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the State by Janet, Paul
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
