Dreyfus

American  

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

noun

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

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Dreyfus British  

/ drɛfys, ˈdreɪfəs /

noun

1. 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)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Dreyfus

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

Then—bang—Mr. Irmis was asking for my pencil, which he might as well have broken over his knee the way the French sergeant broke the sword of Alfred Dreyfus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 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

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

Only the criminal conviction of Dreyfus could save France, it was said.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day