Napoleon Bonaparte

Cultural  

1. A French general, political leader, and emperor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Bonaparte rose swiftly through the ranks of army and government during and after the French Revolution and crowned himself emperor in 1804. He conquered much of Europe but lost two-thirds of his army in a disastrous invasion of Russia. After his final loss to Britain and Prussia at the Battle of Waterloo, he was exiled to the island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean.

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Because Napoleon was short, overly aggressive men of short stature are sometimes said to have a “Napoleon complex.”

Napoleon's name is often connected with overreaching military ambition and delusions of grandeur.

Example Sentences

A brooch seized from Napoleon Bonaparte as he fled the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, laden with old mine-cut diamonds has been valued at $150,000 to $250,000.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

If the conflicts ended with Robespierre’s death and the ensuing Thermidorian Reaction, characterized by a retreat from violent purges in 1794-95, fundamental instability persisted until Napoleon Bonaparte imposed order.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

Beneath that on the bedside table is a biography of military genius Napoleon Bonaparte.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025

She was mesmerized by the smooth-talking Sonny, who raffishly claimed to be a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2024

In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, the best general in France, put an end to the revolutionary bloodbath.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson