Pétain

American

[pey-tan] / peɪˈtɛ̃ /

noun

Henri Philippe Omer 1856–1951, marshal of France: premier of the Vichy government 1940–44.

Pétain British

/ petɛ̃ /

noun

Henri Philippe Omer (ɑ̃ri filip ɔmɛr). 1856–1951, French marshal, noted for his victory at Verdun (1916) in World War I and his leadership of the pro-Nazi government of unoccupied France at Vichy (1940–44); imprisoned for treason (1945)

"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.

Weirdly, he had persuaded Stein to translate the speeches of Philippe Pétain, the leader of the collaborationist Vichy regime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

The book was never published, but Stein wrote an introduction in which she compared Pétain to George Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars.

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2025

Instead, Marshall Philippe Pétain, a hero of World War I, became the prime minister of a truncated French government based in Vichy, France, that, although nominally independent, cooperated with Germany.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Several thousand soldiers were court-martialed and forty-nine were shot, but for the great majority of the men under his command, Pétain introduced reforms—longer periods of rest, more home leave, and better food.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

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