Socrates

American  

[sok-ruh-teez] / ˈsɒk rəˌtiz /

noun

1. 469?–399 b.c., Athenian philosopher.

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Socrates British  

/ ˈsɒkrəˌtiːz /

noun

1. ?470–399 _bc , Athenian philosopher, whose beliefs are known only through the writings of his pupils Plato and Xenophon. He taught that virtue was based on knowledge, which was attained by a dialectical process that took into account many aspects of a stated hypothesis. He was indicted for impiety and corruption of youth (399) and was condemned to death. He refused to flee and died by drinking hemlock

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Socrates Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato.

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Discover More

Socrates said that an oracle of the gods had pronounced him the wisest of all people, because he knew how little he knew.

When Socrates was an old man, the citizens of Athens (see also Athens) condemned him to death, alleging that he denied the reality of the gods and corrupted the youth of Athens. Socrates calmly drank the poison he was given — hemlock — and died a noble death.

The Socratic method of teaching proceeds by question and answer as opposed to lecture.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Socrates
  adjective
• pro-Socrates
  adjective

Example Sentences

Despite the Athenian democracy’s commitment to free and equal speech, Socrates was found guilty and sentenced to death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Catherine Telford Keogh’s “Cradlers” at Socrates raises steel and aluminum high into the air on poles, intersecting constructions that look like fragments from a spaceship’s hull with fossiliferous limestone blocks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

"The way I saw it, if you just put everything into Afrobeats, you're now comparing Socrates to Kendrick Lamar because they both said two things that rhyme so they both must be rappers."

From BBC • Jul. 15, 2025

Some argue Socrates was right and the trend is escalating: with each major technological advancement, we increasingly rely on tools outside of ourselves to perform tasks we once accomplished in-house.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2025

He was fine for 2,400 years as just Socrates without me conjuring him up to help me out of dumb messes like fake double dates with Jeff the leg jiggler.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King