Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Democritus

American  
[dih-mok-ri-tuhs] / dɪˈmɒk rɪ təs /

noun

  1. the Laughing Philosopher, c460–370 b.c., Greek philosopher.


Democritus British  
/ dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs /

noun

  1. ?460–?370 bc , Greek philosopher who developed the atomist theory of matter of his teacher, Leucippus See also atomism

"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

Democritus Scientific  
/ dĭ-mŏk′rĭ-təs /
  1. Greek philosopher who developed one of the first atomist theories of the universe. Democritus believed that the world consists of an infinite number of very small particles whose different characteristics and combinations account for the different qualities of all matter.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In Greece, for instance, Sitaridou co-introduced a pioneering new course on Pontic Greek at the Democritus University of Thrace since the number of speakers of Pontic Greek is also dwindling.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2024

She begins in the 5th century B.C., when Democritus formulated his atomism, locating the ultimate nature of things in matter rather than divinity.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2023

Indeed, this point of view was highly influential, not only for Plato and Aristotle, but also for the early atomists, like Democritus, who held that all perceived qualities are merely human conventions.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Ingenious ancient Greeks, such as Democritus and Epicurus, were the first Atomists.

From Salon ● May 16, 2019

As Democritus put it, ‘By convention sweet, by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention colour: but in reality atoms and void.’

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training