Alcibiades

American  

[al-suh-bahy-uh-deez] / ˌæl səˈbaɪ əˌdiz /

noun

1. 450?–404 b.c., Athenian politician and general.

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Alcibiades British  

/ ˌælsɪˈbaɪəˌdiːz /

noun

1. 450–404 _bc , Athenian statesman and general in the Peloponnesian War: brilliant, courageous, and unstable, he defected to the Spartans in 415, but returned and led the Athenian victories at Abydos (411) and Cyzicus (410)

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Other Word Forms

• Alcibiadean adjective

Example Sentences

When his “political enemy,” the glib and popular Alcibiades, sways the assembly, Nicias replies that this means sending both a fleet and “large numbers of land forces.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

His questioning often embarrassed powerful people in Athens and made enemies, while his disciples included the politician Alcibiades and even some who had opposed Athenian democracy.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Given Socrates’ talents as an interlocutor, Pigliucci asks why he failed to educate the handsome, rich and powerful Alcibiades to become a better statesman.

From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2022

The other steadfast friend, the soldier Alcibiades, has been vastly rejiggered in an attempt to give the play a timely hook.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2020

But does that make any more difference in the life of the flesh to-day than in the time of Alcibiades?

From Atlantic Classics, Second Series by Addams, Jane