Diogenes

American  

[dahy-oj-uh-neez] / daɪˈɒdʒ əˌniz /

noun

1. 412?–323 b.c., Greek Cynic philosopher.

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Diogenes British  

/ daɪˈɒdʒɪˌniːz /

noun

1. ?412–?323 _bc , Greek Cynic philosopher, who rejected social conventions and advocated self-sufficiency and simplicity of life

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Other Word Forms

• Diogenean adjective
• Diogenic adjective

Example Sentences

These stories tell us that Diogenes was chased out of his native Sinope, on the north coast of what’s now Turkey, for his supposed role in a scheme to debase the city’s currency.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Vainglorious comments made by Diogenes when he himself was enslaved—captured and sold by pirates—indicate that even then he saw himself more as master than servant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

In a chapter entitled “A Lone Voice Against Slavery,” Ms. Kuin tries to cast Diogenes as a proto-abolitionist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

“Most of the album is sort of about me being a bit of a Diogenes about the ills of modernity while still celebrating them.”

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2025

When the slave-auctioneer inquired what skills Diogenes might offer, the philosopher replied, “Ruling men.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson