Helvétius

[ hel-vee-shuhs; French el-vey-syys ]

/ hɛlˈvi ʃəs; French ɛl veɪˈsyüs /

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noun

Claude A·dri·en

[klawd ey-dree-uhn; French klohda-dree-ahn], /klɔd ˈeɪ dri ən; French kloʊd a driˈɑ̃/, 1715–71, French philosopher.

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Words nearby Helvétius

Helvellyn, Helvetia, Helvetian, Helvetic, Helvetii, Helvétius, hem, hema-, hemacytometer, hemagglutinate, hemagglutination

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

How to use Helvétius in a sentence

Holbach and Helvetius were life-long friends and spent much time together reading at Helvetius's country place at Vor.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
As he said to Helvetius, "Vous tes brouill avec tous ceux que vous avez oblig, mais j'ai gard tous mes amis."
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
He kept his promise, and then, after much entreaty, gave Helvetius a pinch of the powder—about as much as a rape-seed.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician|William Henry Davenport Adams
During their first conference, Helvetius had contrived to conceal a little of the powder beneath his thumb-nail.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician|William Henry Davenport Adams

"Helvetius would tell you that all this was self-interest," was my pale-visaged and contemplative friend's reply.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLII. Vol. LV. April, 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Helvétius

Helvétius

/ (hɛlˈviːʃɪəs, French ɛlvesjys) /

noun

Claude Adrien (klod adriɛ̃). 1715–71, French philosopher. In his chief work De l'Esprit (1758), he asserted that the mainspring of human action is self-interest and that differences in human intellects are due only to differences in education

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