cause célèbre

[ kawz suh-leb-ruh, -leb; French kohz sey-leb-ruh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural causes cé·lè·bres [kawz, s, uh, -, leb, -r, uh, z, s, uh, -, lebz, kaw, -ziz s, uh, -, leb, -r, uh, -, leb, kohz sey-, leb, -, r, uh].

any controversy that attracts great public attention, as a celebrated legal case or trial.

cause célèbre

/ -ˈlɛb; ˈkɔːz səˈlɛbrə; koz selɛbrə /

cause célèbre

A cause or issue, generally political, that arouses public opinion: “The question of the draft was a cause célèbre in the 1960s.” From French, meaning “celebrated cause.”

First recorded in 1755–65; from French: literally, “famous case”

C19: from French: famous case

As celebrities on the movie promotion circuit are wont to do, Cameron Diaz is hawking her latest cause celebre.

In his first term, Obama made the settlements something of a cause celebre.

She was this cause celebre, this major novelist, like better than Updike.

Rains kept silent about her dismissal even as the case became a cause celebre around her.

Then came the cause celebre, as it may be called, of the day, the trial of Xenophon himself.

Within twenty-four hours the Iams case became a National cause celebre.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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