French Revolution

American  

noun

French History.

1. the revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, and ended with Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory and seizure of power in 1799.

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French Revolution British  

noun

1. the anticlerical and republican revolution in France from 1789 until 1799, when Napoleon seized power

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French Revolution Cultural  

1. The event at the end of the eighteenth century that ended the thousand-year rule of kings in France and established the nation as a republic. The revolution began in 1789, after King Louis xvi had convened the French parliament to deal with an enormous national debt. The common people's division of the parliament declared itself the true legislature of France, and when the king seemed to resist the move, a crowd destroyed the royal prison (the Bastille). A constitutional monarchy was set up, but after King Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, tried to flee the country, they were arrested, tried for treason, and executed on the guillotine. Control of the government passed to Robespierre and other radicals — the extreme Jacobins — and the Reign of Terror followed (1793–1794), when thousands of French nobles and others considered enemies of the revolution were executed. After the Terror, Robespierre himself was executed, and a new ruling body, the Directory, came into power. Its incompetence and corruption allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to emerge in 1799 as dictator and, eventually, to become emperor. Napoleon's ascent to power is considered the official end of the revolution. (See Georges Danton and Jean-Paul Marat.)

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Example Sentences

The institution was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800 to promote economic recovery after the French Revolution.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

"You can't take to the barricades like they did in the French Revolution and storm the Bastille. You just hope that somebody somewhere does the job and sorts the problem out."

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

The French Revolution, by contrast, concentrated its energy into the Committee of Public Safety and cults of personality.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

He admired the spirit of liberty, for instance, yet opposed the French Revolution and supported Napoleon, believing that ensuing populist disorder would then, as it turned out, require autocracy.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

His works were key texts from the end of the Dark Ages through the Renaissance and French Revolution to the drafting of the American Constitution.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith