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Estates General

American  
Or Estates‑General

noun

French History.
  1. the States-General.


Estates General British  

noun

  1. See States General

"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.

Seeking a mandate from the French people for his policies, Louis XVI convened the Estates General.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

But something is happening in Versailles, where the commoners of the Estates General have broken from the clergy and the nobles, and declared themselves France’s legitimate national assembly.

From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022

Louis reluctantly agreed to revive France’s ancient representative assembly, the Estates General, in the hope of persuading that body to provide more revenue.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

It is more reminiscent of the Cahiers de Doléances, the list of grievances Louis XVI solicited from his subjects ahead of the assembly of the Estates General in January 1789.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2019

Punctually at that moment a delegation appeared from across the way, from the Estates General.

From The Rise of the Dutch Kingdom 1795-1813 by Van Loon, Hendrik Willem