ancien régime

American  

[ahn-syan ray-zheem] / ɑ̃ sjɛ̃ reɪˈʒim /

noun

French.

• anciens régimes
  plural

1. the political and social system of France before the revolution of 1789.

2. the system of government during this period.

---

ancien régime British  

/ ɑ̃sjɛ̃ reʒim /

noun

1. the political and social system of France before the Revolution of 1789

2. a former or outdated regime

---

ancien régime Cultural  

1. The political and social order that prevailed in France before the French Revolution, built on a belief in absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• anciens régimes
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of ancien régime

First recorded in 1790–95; from French; literally, “old rule”

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ancien régime

The crowd that stormed the Bastille in 1789 did so because the prison-fortress symbolized the ancien régime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

There would be no revolutions here, and no memorials either, just a restoration of the ancien régime: an orchestra playing what it has long played, and playing it pretty well.

From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2021

It was a building that was all crisp Modernism on the outside, buttery ancien régime within.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2019

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 was unacceptable to the adherents of the ancien régime, as much as to the liberals.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---