Dreyfus

American

[drey-fuhs, drahy-, drey-fys] / ˈdreɪ fəs, ˈdraɪ-, dreɪˈfüs /

noun

Alfred 1859–1935, French army officer of Jewish descent: convicted of treason 1894, 1899; acquitted 1906.

Dreyfus British

/ drɛfys, ˈdreɪfəs /

noun

Alfred (alfrɛd). 1859–1935, French army officer, a Jew whose false imprisonment for treason (1894) raised issues of anti-semitism and militarism that dominated French politics until his release (1906)

"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

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.

However, in 2024, the then-Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

The kind of high point, the peak of his trajectory, was kind of preparing the ground for the Dreyfus affair, which began in 1894 with the arrest of the Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus.

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026

A lanky, six-foot-five 72-old, Druckenmiller got his start in the trust department of Pittsburgh National Bank, before running mutual funds for Dreyfus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Dreyfus, a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region of eastern France, was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to a German military attache.

From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025

The French government was so desperate for a conviction that it forged evidence against Dreyfus.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023