Kierkegaard

American  

[keer-ki-gahrd, keer-kuh-gawr] / ˈkɪər kɪˌgɑrd, ˈkir kəˌgɔr /

noun

1. Sören Aabye 1813–55, Danish philosopher and theologian.

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Kierkegaard British  

/ ˈkirɡəɡɔːr, ˈkɪəkəˌɡɑːd /

noun

1. Søren Aabye (ˈsøːrən ˈɔːby). 1813–55, Danish philosopher and theologian. He rejected organized Christianity and anticipated the existentialists in emphasizing man's moral responsibility and freedom of choice. His works include Either/Or (1843), The Concept of Dread (1844), and The Sickness unto Death (1849)

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Other Word Forms

• Kierkegaardian adjective

Example Sentences

Kierkegaard was forthright in declaring that his philosophy was designed to ameliorate, or at least manage, existential unease — “fear and trembling” as he operatically phrased it — in a chaotic-feeling modern Europe.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2023

“It’s Scandinavian and pretentious but Kierkegaard once said ‘We can only understand life backwards, but we’re forced to live it forwards,”’ says Trier.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2022

As longtime fans might expect, behind the prose lies a wealth of hardcover learning, from the Bible and the Augsburg Book of Miracles to Nietzsche, Kierkegaard and Heidegger.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2021

Anxiety is, as Kierkegaard said, “the dizziness of freedom.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2020

All the rooms in the Hotel Filosoof were named after filosoofers: Mom and I were staying on the ground floor in the Kierkegaard; Augustus was on the floor above us, in the Heidegger.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green