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

Epictetus is well-known for articulating this concept in his "Enchiridion" and "Discourses."

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2024

Epictetus reminded his listener of the harmony of external nature, of flowers and moon and sun.

From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)