Renaissance

American  

[ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns, ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns, ri-ney-suhns] / ˌrɛn əˈsɑns, -ˈzɑns, -ˈsɑ̃s, ˈrɛn əˌsɑns, -ˌzɑns, -ˌsɑ̃s, rɪˈneɪ səns /

noun

1. the Renaissance,

   1. the great revival of classical art, literature, and learning in Europe from the 14th century to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.

   2. the period during which this revival occurred.

2. the forms and treatments in art, architecture, literature, etc., used in Europe from the 14th century to the 17th century and involving a revival of classical forms.

   This building is considered the most beautiful example of Renaissance north of the Alps.

3. Sometimes renaissance any notable revival in the world of art and learning.

   The period from 1917 to 1923, which in China saw the New Culture Movement at its height, has been called by some the Chinese Renaissance.

4. renaissance, a renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival.

   “British film is undergoing its own renaissance right now,” said the festival’s director.

   Synonyms:

   resurgence

---

adjective

1. relating to the period, arts, literature, and ways of thinking of the European Renaissance from the 14th to the 17th century.

   Renaissance attitudes helped bring about a scientific revolution.

2. relating to furnishings or decorations in or imitating the style of the Renaissance, in which motifs of classical derivation frequently appear.

3. Architecture.

   1. relating to a group of architectural styles that evolved in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries, adapting ancient Roman details or forms to contemporary uses while retaining an emphasis on symmetry, mathematical precision, and a general effect of simplicity and tranquility.

   2. relating to any of the adaptations of this group of styles in foreign architecture that make playful or grotesque use of isolated details in more or less traditional buildings.

Renaissance ¹ British  

/ ˈrɛnəˌsɒns, rəˈneɪsəns /

noun

1. the period of European history marking the waning of the Middle Ages and the rise of the modern world: usually considered as beginning in Italy in the 14th century

2. 1. the spirit, culture, art, science, and thought of this period. Characteristics of the Renaissance are usually considered to include intensified classical scholarship, scientific and geographical discovery, a sense of individual human potentialities, and the assertion of the active and secular over the religious and contemplative life

   2. ( as modifier ) See also Early Renaissance High Renaissance

      Renaissance writers

---

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the Renaissance, its culture, etc

renaissance ² British  

/ rəˈneɪsəns, ˈrɛnəˌsɒns /

noun

1. a revival or rebirth, esp of culture and learning

---

Renaissance Cultural  

1. The cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe from roughly the fourteenth through the middle of the seventeenth centuries, based on the rediscovery of the literature of Greece and Rome. During the Renaissance, America was discovered, and the Reformation began; modern times are often considered to have begun with the Renaissance. Major figures of the Renaissance include Galileo, William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Renaissance means “rebirth” or “reawakening.”

---

Discover More

The term renaissance is often used to describe any revival or rediscovery.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Renaissance adjective
• post-Renaissance adjective
• pre-Renaissance adjective
• pro-Renaissance adjective

Etymology

Origin of Renaissance

First recorded in 1830–40; from French, Middle French: “rebirth,” equivalent to renaiss- (stem of renaistre “to be born again,” from Latin renāscī, from re- re- + nāscī “to be born”) + -ance -ance

Example Sentences

He has survived multiple damaging scandals and found his way back to power every time, like a wily Renaissance courtier or an unkillable horror-movie villain, and may well survive this one.

From Salon

Pyramids share first place in Group A with Renaissance Berkane of Morocco, who were also 3-0 winners, against Power Dynamos of Zambia.

From Barron's

A Renaissance painting found underneath a garage workbench has sold for more than half a million pounds at an auction house in Banbury.

From BBC

While this book is nominally about a single architect’s career and accomplishments, readers will also learn a great deal about the wider Renaissance from this deft account, which wears its deep scholarship lightly.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Companies are definitely waiting longer to go public. We’ve noted in the past that small-cap technology IPOs have all but disappeared,” Matthew Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• rejuvenation
• renewal
• resurgence
• revitalization
• revival