Renaissance

[ ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns, ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns; especially British ri-ney-suhns ]

/ ˈrɛn əˌsɑns, -ˌzɑns, -ˌsɑ̃s, ˌrɛn əˈsɑns, -ˈzɑns, -ˈsɑ̃s; especially British rɪˈneɪ səns /

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See synonyms for Renaissance on Thesaurus.com

noun

the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.

the forms and treatments in art used during this period.

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

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

adjective

of, relating to, or suggestive of the European Renaissance of the 14th through the 17th centuries: Renaissance attitudes.

noting or pertaining to the group of architectural styles existing in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries as adaptations of ancient Roman architectural details or compositional forms to contemporary uses, characterized at first by the free and inventive use of isolated details, later by the more imitative use of whole orders and compositional arrangements, with great attention to the formulation of compositional rules after the precepts of Vitruvius and the precedents of existing ruins, and at all periods by an emphasis on symmetry, exact mathematical relationships between parts, and a general effect of simplicity and repose.

noting or pertaining to any of the various adaptations of this group of styles in foreign architecture characterized typically by the playful or grotesque use of isolated details in more or less traditional buildings.

noting or pertaining to the furnishings or decorations of the Renaissance, in which motifs of classical derivation frequently appear.

OTHER WORDS FOR Renaissance

4 resurgence, reawakening.

See synonyms for Renaissance on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of Renaissance

1830–40; <French, Middle French: rebirth, equivalent to renaiss- (stem of renaistre to be born again <Latin renāscī; re-re- + nāscī to be born) + -ance-ance

OTHER WORDS FROM Renaissance

an·ti-Ren·ais·sance, adjectivepost-Ren·ais·sance, adjectivepre-Ren·ais·sance, adjectivepro-Ren·ais·sance, adjective

Words nearby Renaissance

remunerate, remuneration, remunerative, Remus, Rena, Renaissance, Renaissance man, Renaissance Revival, Renaissance woman, renaissant, renal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Renaissance in a sentence

He is a designer, a technologist, and a Renaissance man without peer.
Elon Musk’s rocket ride|Andrew Nusca|December 2, 2020|Fortune
The “chain” attacks after a counterattack turned Ezio into a Renaissance John Wick.
All the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games, ranked|Elise Favis, Gene Park|November 11, 2020|Washington Post
The plexiglass creates a sort of terrarium of a Renaissance garden.
GALA Hispanic Theater reopens with comedy — and plexiglass|Patrick Folliard|October 31, 2020|Washington Blade
This grandiose wine “jail” is designed out of wrought iron with solid iron bars in a Renaissance inspired arched and scrollwork design.
Wine bottle holders and racks that make sophisticated gifts|PopSci Commerce Team|September 29, 2020|Popular-Science

Things seem to have gotten out of hand after the Renaissance.
Why Mathematicians Should Stop Naming Things After Each Other - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Laura Ball|September 2, 2020|Nautilus
The demonic ‘anti-Santa’ enjoys an unlikely renaissance as we learn to embrace our inner pagan.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa|Jay Michaelson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lee makes a convincing case that the loveliness of much Renaissance art is inversely related to the moral ugliness of its patrons.
Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth|Nick Romeo|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cardinals had such a bad reputation that the very term “cardinal” became an insult in Renaissance Rome.
Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth|Nick Romeo|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It may not be a story the Vatican wants told, but such nasty behavior is also a part of the Renaissance.
Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth|Nick Romeo|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the flaws and peccadilloes of Renaissance artists like Michelangelo pale beside the misdeeds of patrons and pontiffs.
Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth|Nick Romeo|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The organ is inclosed in a case designed by Mr. Arthur Hill after old renaissance examples.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
His history endeavors to show that the Felibrean renaissance was not a spontaneous springing into existence.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
They affirmed their adherence to the Renaissance méridionale, and claimed equal rights for the Languedocian dialect.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
During this period of the Renaissance, as Hadria afterwards called the short-lived epoch, little Martha was visited frequently.
The Daughters of Danaus|Mona Caird
The architects of the Renaissance showed great boldness in their designs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Renaissance (1 of 2)

renaissance

renascence

/ (rəˈneɪsəns, US ˈrɛnəˌsɒns) /

noun

a revival or rebirth, esp of culture and learning

Word Origin for renaissance

C19: from French, from Latin re- + nascī to be born

British Dictionary definitions for Renaissance (2 of 2)

Renaissance

/ (rəˈneɪsəns, US ˈrɛnəˌsɒns) /

noun

the Renaissance 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

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
(as modifier)Renaissance writers See also Early Renaissance, High Renaissance

adjective

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

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

Cultural definitions for Renaissance

Renaissance

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.”

notes for Renaissance

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