Montaigne

American

[mon-teyn, mawn-ten-y^uh] / mɒnˈteɪn, mɔ̃ˈtɛn yə /

noun

Michel Eyquem Seigneur de, 1533–92, French essayist.

Montaigne British

/ mɔ̃tɛɲ /

noun

Michel Eyquem de (miʃɛl ikɛm də). 1533–92, French writer. His life's work, the Essays (begun in 1571), established the essay as a literary genre and record the evolution of his moral ideas

"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.

Montaigne said that everyone believes he has ten years left to live, no matter how dire his condition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

"Vladimir Putin is using this to communicate with the West, because he could undoubtedly achieve the same operational effects without this missile," Cyrille Bret, a Russia expert at the Paris-based Montaigne Institute, told AFP.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

Featuring thousands of miniature bags, dresses, perfume bottles and more, the Colorama installation reminded me of being on Avenue Montaigne during fashion week.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2025

France is "fiercely proud" that its intelligence and security services are not intertwined with the US, unlike the UK, says Georgina Wright, deputy director for international studies at the Institut Montaigne.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2025

But when Montaigne used the word it meant an assay or a test.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023