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

The abolition law of 1794 was pushed through despite, not because of, Robespierre, and soon afterward he accused his former friends of having passed a decree “whose likely result was the loss of our colonies.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Not much later, Maximilien Robespierre claimed to be ready “to trace with my blood the route which must lead my country to happiness and to Liberty.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

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

Less than three months later, on July 27, Robespierre himself was dispatched in the same way and in the same place, and the Reign of Terror swiftly ended.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson