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.

---

Discover More

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

See Examples For:

Napoleon Bonaparte

Danish restaurant critic Ole Troelsø, who has covered Copenhagen’s food scene for two decades said the chef has always reminded him of Napoleon Bonaparte for his “relentless drive to conquer new territory.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

But Ike was never the sort of man-on-horseback-style commander that Churchill idolized in the manner of the First Duke of Marlborough, Napoleon Bonaparte or the Duke of Wellington.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

France ended slavery in 1794 under the French Revolution, but Napoleon Bonaparte ordered troops to be sent to Guadeloupe in 1802 to restore the practice.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

This historic fortress is where Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in 1799.

From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025

Traditional histories like to equate Beethoven, the colossus of music in the early 1800s, with his contemporary Napoleon Bonaparte, revolutionary-turned-Emperor and serial military adventurer.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---