Epictetus

American  

[ep-ik-tee-tuhs] / ˌɛp ɪkˈti təs /

noun

1. a.d. c60–c120, Greek Stoic philosopher and teacher, mainly in Rome.

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Epictetus British  

/ ˌɛpɪkˈtiːtəs /

noun

1. ?50–?120 _ad , Greek Stoic philosopher, who stressed self-renunciation and the brotherhood of man

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Other Word Forms

• Epictetian adjective

Example Sentences

She studies it daily, reading the texts of thinkers such as Seneca, Epictetus and other men better known as marble busts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Democracy thrives when citizens remember what the Stoic philosopher Epictetus said more than two thousand years ago: “We have two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

From Slate • Jan. 2, 2026

Throughout the novel, Rhys references Kant, De Beauvoir, Sartre, Virginia Woolf and Epictetus, among others, using knowledge as a balm and escape hatch.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2025

The writings of Stoic philosophers such as Seneca and Epictetus highlight these themes, emphasizing the power of bouncing back from opposition with courage and wisdom.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2024

If Epictetus was more nearly so, this was probably because the extreme hardship he underwent made him dwell more than his contemporaries upon the importance of fortitude and endurance.

From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 1 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole