Faust

[ foust ]

/ faʊst /

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noun

Jo·hann

[yoh-hahn], /ˈyoʊ hɑn/, c1480–c1538, German magician, alchemist, and astrologer.

the chief character of a medieval legend, represented as selling his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.

(italics) a tragedy by Goethe (Part 1, 1808; Part 2, 1832).

(italics) an opera (1859) by Charles Gounod.

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Words nearby Faust

Fauntleroy suit, faunula, Faunus, faur, Fauré, Faust, Faustian, Faustian bargain, Faustus, faut, faute de mieux

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Faust in a sentence

Unfortunately, as Faust told me, “there’s no one cookbook for how to vet an idea and how to say when we’re done.”
When To Stop Hoping For a COVID-19 Miracle Cure|Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 4, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
No, answered Faust; she suspected that Harvard was no different.
Princeton's Woman Problem|Evan Thomas|March 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Tilghman said she asked her peer, President Drew Gilpin Faust of Harvard, if she was surprised by what they found at Princeton.
Princeton's Woman Problem|Evan Thomas|March 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Once, when a boy, he had seen Henry Irving in Faust; he saw the devils on the haunted mountain; he heard their hideous cries.
The Everlasting Arms|Joseph Hocking

There is a passage where Faust, in his most discontented mood, falls foul of history—in his talk to Wagner, if I am not mistaken.
Friends in Council|Arthur Helps
Though "Faust" did not strike the public very much at first, it is the greatest theatrical success I have ever had.
Autobiographical Reminiscences with Family Letters and Notes on Music|Charles Gounod
Barbot sang the difficult part of Faust like the great musician he is.
Autobiographical Reminiscences with Family Letters and Notes on Music|Charles Gounod
The deficiencies we have indicated in Mr. Taylor's work are more visible in the second part of 'Faust' than in the first.
British Quarterly Review, American Edition, Volume LIV|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Faust

Faust

Faustus (ˈfaʊstəs)

/ (faʊst) /

noun

German legend a magician and alchemist who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power

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

Cultural definitions for Faust

Faust

[ (fowst) ]

A legendary sixteenth-century magician and practitioner of alchemy, who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for youth, knowledge, and power. Christopher Marlowe, a sixteenth-century English poet, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote famous plays about him.

notes for Faust

A “Faustian” bargain is one in which a person is willing to make extreme sacrifices for power or knowledge without considering the ultimate cost.