raisonneur

American  

[rez-uh-nur, re-zaw-nœr] / ˌrɛz əˈnɜr, rɛ zɔˈnœr /

noun

raisonneurs plural

1. a character in a play, novel, or the like who voices the central theme, philosophy, or point of view of the work.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• raisonneurs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of raisonneur

1900–05; < French: literally, one who reasons or argues, equivalent to raisonn ( er ) to reason, argue + -eur -eur

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

raisonneur raisonneurs

The sculptor is a formidable bore, the antique raisonneur of French drama, preaching at every pore every chance he has.

From Ivory Apes and Peacocks by Huneker, James

In every comedy the one ungrateful part is that of the raisonneur.

From Jean-Christophe Journey's End by Cannan, Gilbert

But she, like myself, is but a raisonneur in the drama, and so, reluctantly, I must keep her in the background.

From Jaffery by Locke, William John

Do you figure Basil Randolph, alongside his portière, as but the observer, the raisonneur, in this narrative?

From Bertram Cope's Year by Fuller, Henry Blake

Since I was lugged, even as a sort of raisonneur, into their little drama, I may be pardoned for some curiosity as to development.

From The Mountebank by Locke, William John

The world's heaviest concentration of chattering raisonneurs were quick to join critics in the Low Countries and Germany to point the finger of blame.

From Time Magazine Archive

The raisonneurs of the social question seemed tiresome to him.

From Jean-Christophe Journey's End by Cannan, Gilbert