philosopher

American  

[fi-los-uh-fer] / fɪˈlɒs ə fər /

noun

philosophers plural

1. a person who offers views or theories on profound questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields.

2. a person who is deeply versed in philosophy.

3. a person who establishes the central ideas of some movement, cult, etc.

4. a person who regulates their life, actions, judgments, utterances, etc., by the light of philosophy or reason.

5. a person who is rationally or sensibly calm, especially under trying circumstances.

6. Obsolete. an alchemist or occult scientist.

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philosopher British  

/ fɪˈlɒsəfə /

noun

1. a student, teacher, or devotee of philosophy

2. a person of philosophical temperament, esp one who is patient, wise, and stoical

3. (formerly) an alchemist or devotee of occult science

4. a person who establishes the ideology of a cult or movement

   the philosopher of the revolution

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philosopher Cultural  

1. Someone who engages in philosophy. Some examples of philosophers are Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and Plato.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• philosophership
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• philosophers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of philosopher

First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of philosophre from Anglo-French ( Middle French philosophe, from Latin philosophus ); replacing Old English philosoph, from Latin philosophus, from Greek philósophos “philosopher,” equivalent to philo- philo- + soph(ía) “wisdom” ( see -sophy) + -os noun suffix

Explanation

A philosopher is someone engaged in the study of philosophy. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of life? This is the type of weighty question a philosopher tackles. In ancient Greek, the word philosopho meant a “lover of wisdom.” Thales of Miletus, who lived in the 7th century B.C., generally gets credit for being the first western philosopher, though he is much less well known than Socrates, Plato or Aristotle. René Descartes, famous for his declaration, “I think, therefore I am,” is considered the first modern philosopher, though he lived in the 17th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philosopher philosophers

Writing during Anna Hazare's anti-corruption fast in 2011, political philosopher Pratap Bhanu Mehta argued , externalthat such protests can become "deeply coercive".

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Here the enduring wisdom of Indian spiritual philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, Ojai’s informal patron saint, serves even to hold a recent incursion of ultra-rich to account.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

A deep friendship with philosopher Ayn Rand in 1960s New York City helped cement his free-market thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

He became an active member of the libertarian salon surrounding anti-government writer and philosopher Ayn Rand.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

“Have I told you about the philosopher David Hume?”

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Since we—the authors of this essay—are philosophers, maybe you’d expect us to say it’s important to do all these virtuous things for the right reasons.

From Slate ● May 15, 2026

Ms. McDonagh also writes about Elizabeth Anscombe, who was one of the 20th century’s major philosophers, and also a student, friend and landlady of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

These world-historical individuals were “practical, political men” of action, not philosophers.

From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026

Jürgen Habermas, one of the most influential philosophers and public intellectuals in post-war Germany, has died aged 96.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

This account presented Muslim and Christian philosophers with a problem which had not worried their pagan predecessors: how did it come about that the four elements did not form perfect concentric circles?

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• theorist