Robespierre

American  

[rohbz-peer, -pee-air, raw-bes-pyer] / ˈroʊbz pɪər, -piˌɛər, rɔ bɛsˈpyɛr /

noun

1. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de 1758–94, French lawyer and revolutionary leader.

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Robespierre British  

/ ˈrəʊbzpjɛə, rɔbzpjɛr /

noun

1. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de . (maksimiljɛ̃ frɑ̃swa mari izidɔr də). 1758–94, French revolutionary and Jacobin leader: established the Reign of Terror as a member of the Committee of Public Safety (1793–94): executed in the coup d'état of Thermidor (1794)

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Robespierre Cultural  

1. A French political leader of the eighteenth century. Robespierre, a Jacobin, was one of the most radical leaders of the French Revolution. He was in charge of the government during the Reign of Terror, when thousands of persons were executed without trial. After a public reaction against his extreme policies, he was executed without trial.

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Example Sentences

Come the Revolution, David enthusiastically embraced the radical Robespierre faction, even voting for the execution of Louis XVI, his former patron.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

He began as a Royal Academician, became an ardent revolutionary, barely escaped execution after the fall of Robespierre, went on to be Napoleon’s chief propagandist, and ended life a political exile.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Prominent French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre met the same fate a year later.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024

Opposite Corbery, Clément Hervieu-Léger is prissy and repressed as a bewigged Robespierre, with a dancer’s ramrod posture throughout.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2023

I kept my eyes on the desk, on a smug picture of Robespierre from early 1794.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben