cause célèbre

[ kawzsuh-leb-ruh, -leb; French kohz sey-leb-ruh ]

See synonyms for cause célèbre on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural causes cé·lè·bres

[kawzsuh-leb-ruhz, suh-lebz, kaw-ziz suh-leb-ruh, -leb; French kohz sey-leb-ruh]. /ˈkɔz səˈlɛb rəz, səˈlɛbz, ˈkɔ zɪz səˈlɛb rə, -ˈlɛb; French koʊz seɪˈlɛb rə/.

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

Origin of cause célèbre

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

Words Nearby cause célèbre

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cause célèbre in a sentence

The prosecutors’ decision not to press for a longer sentence came after a surge of public support for Bacot, whose case has become a genuine cause célèbre.
Woman Who Shot Dead Her Abusive Stepfather-Turned-Husband to Be Freed After Global Outcry | Philippe Naughton | June 25, 2021 | The Daily Beast
As celebrities on the movie promotion circuit are wont to do, Cameron Diaz is hawking her latest cause celebre.
Waxing: Damned if You Do and Damned if You Don’t: How Pubic Hair Became Political | Emily Shire | April 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In his first term, Obama made the settlements something of a cause celebre.
Obama: Come Visit The Settlements | Samuel Lebens | March 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
She was this cause celebre, this major novelist, like better than Updike.
Courtney Love Loves Fashion Week, Hates the Subway | Jacob Bernstein | September 15, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Rains kept silent about her dismissal even as the case became a cause celebre around her.
I Was a Victim of Blago's Vendetta | Ross Goldberg | December 14, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST

Then came the cause celebre, as it may be called, of the day, the trial of Xenophon himself.
Callias | Alfred John Church
Within twenty-four hours the Iams case became a National cause celebre.
Homestead | Arthur G. Burgoyne

British Dictionary definitions for cause célèbre

cause célèbre

/ (ˈkɔːz səˈlɛbrə, -ˈlɛb, French koz selɛbrə) /

nounplural causes célèbres (ˈkɔːz səˈlɛbrəz, -ˈlɛb, ˈkɔːzɪz səˈlɛbrə, -ˈlɛbz, French koz selɛbrə)

a famous lawsuit, trial, or controversy

Origin of cause célèbre

C19: from French: famous case

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for cause célèbre

cause célèbre

[ (kohz say-leb-ruh, kawz suh-leb-ruh) ]

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.”

Browse