Age of Reason

American  

noun

1. any period in history, especially the 18th century in France, England, etc., characterized by a critical approach to religious, social, and philosophical matters that seeks to repudiate beliefs or systems not based on or justifiable by reason.

2. age of reason, the age at which a person is considered capable of distinguishing between right and wrong.

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Age of Reason British  

noun

1. the 18th century in W Europe See also Enlightenment

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Example Sentences

We've abandoned the Age of Reason, are lacking in common sense and live in times that truly try men's souls.

From Salon • Oct. 6, 2022

They imagine it as a scene straight from the Age of Reason, a time when rationality and virtue ruled the day.

From Washington Post • Oct. 5, 2016

This was a time when science was displacing superstition, the dawn of the Age of Reason.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2014

One, a small, skillful copy by an unknown artist of Raphael’s tenderly religious “Madonna della Seggiola,” from the Pitti Palace in Florence, stands out among all these artifacts of the Age of Reason.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2012

The common notion that Paines "Age of Reason" abounds in "vulgarity" is due to the lack of literary culture in those—probably few—who have derived that impression from its perusal.

From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. II. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England by Conway, Moncure Daniel