Candide

American  

[kahn-deed] / kɑ̃ˈdid /

noun

1. a philosophical novel (1759) by Voltaire.

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Candide Cultural  

1. A novel of satire by Voltaire, in which a long series of calamities happens to the title character, an extremely naive and innocent young man, and his teacher, Doctor Pangloss. Pangloss, who reflects the optimistic philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, nevertheless insists that, despite the calamities, “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”

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Example Sentences

Candide lives a life of ease before years of trials and tragedies that leave him increasingly bitter.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2024

By the time this Candide becomes a semi-psychotic outlaw idol, like the characters in spaghetti westerns, it’s hard to keep track of the chain of injustice or even just the genre.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2023

Senior Nigerian lawyer Yemi Candide Johnson told the BBC that Inec guidelines were not law and that an election can only be nullified for substantial non-compliance with the electoral law.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2023

In his most famous work, the 1759 satire Candide, Voltaire mocked both established religion and secular government.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

When we read Candide it opened up a new way of looking at the world to Chet, and he continued hungrily reading Voltaire, in French, while the class went on to other people.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles