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

The ceremony took place at the historic Les Invalides national monument, the resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte, in the presence of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, top left-wing politicians, and other high-profile guests.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

In 1800, he was commissioned to create a portrait of the young Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 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

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