Descartes

[ dey-kahrt; French dey-kart ]

/ deɪˈkɑrt; French deɪˈkart /

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noun

Re·né

[ruh-ney; French ruh-ney], /rəˈneɪ; French rəˈneɪ/, 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician.

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

How to use Descartes in a sentence

She gives no nods to the Humanists, like Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Erasmus, or Descartes.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rene is the premier casting agent for Native American actors.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work|William O’Connor|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I know Rene Haynes, the casting director, and I hooked up Alex and Andrew with Rene.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work|William O’Connor|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, we see there is a painfully innocent happiness to Rene about her spiritual “transformation.”
Mississippi Is Hell for These Lesbians|Emily Shire|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Rene feels a tremendous amount of guilt that her son is gay.
Mississippi Is Hell for These Lesbians|Emily Shire|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rene le Pays, a French poet, died; well known at court by his miscellanies.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
He was the friend of Descartes, and a philosopher; distinguished for his eloquence and as an author.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The prime fact in philosophy was to him, as to Augustine and Descartes, the certainty of individual consciousness.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
When Charles refused to use Rene's perfumes any longer the wary woman knew at once on whom his suspicions really rested.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
Rene, the perfumer, is kept under guard in his own house by Solern's equerry, and so are the two witches.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for Descartes

Descartes

/ (ˈdeɪˌkɑːt, French dekart) /

noun

René (rəne). 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician. He provided a mechanistic basis for the philosophical theory of dualism and is regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. He also founded analytical geometry and contributed greatly to the science of optics. His works include Discours de la méthode (1637), Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1641), and Principia Philosophiae (1644)

Other words from Descartes

Related adjective: Cartesian

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

Scientific definitions for Descartes

Descartes

[ dā-kärt′ ]

René 1596-1650

French mathematician and philosopher who discovered that the position of a point can be determined by coordinates, a discovery that laid the foundation for analytic geometry.