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

Derived Forms

• Diogenic
  adjective
• Diogenean
  adjective

Example Sentences

Diogenes the Cynic famously carried a lantern searching for an honest man.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

Part hobo, part insult comic, part performance artist, Diogenes flaunted his disregard for convention in ways that scandalized the bourgeoisie of Athens and, later, Corinth, after his banishment from Sinope became permanent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Her efforts to elevate Diogenes into the upper reaches of the Greek intellectual pantheon are ingenious but ultimately unconvincing and, at times, misleading.

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

So was Agrigentum, which, according to Diogenes Laertius, in the third century had a population of 800,000.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton