Socrates

[sok-ruh-teez]

noun

469?–399 b.c., Athenian philosopher.

Related formsan·ti-Soc·ra·tes, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for socrates

Contemporary Examples of socrates

For Socrates, the puzzle of politics and “ideology” could not be unraveled without understanding what ruled human souls.
Everything Is Politics to the Right, Even Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death
James Poulos
February 11, 2014
The youthful nobility were singled out by Socrates because they, above all others, were both erotic and courageous.
How to Fight for Freedom in 2014
James Poulos
December 29, 2013
Like Socrates, Street Epistemologists are to understand themselves as inquisitive teachers, not combative lecturers.
Atheist Philosopher Peter Boghossian’s Guide to Converting Believers
Michael Schulson
November 2, 2013
The unexamined life is not worth living, according to Socrates.
London’s Sober Goodbye to Margaret Thatcher
Jamie Dettmer
April 17, 2013
That was the most ill-advised drink of liquid since Socrates took hemlock.
Marco Rubio, Substitute Teacher
Michael Tomasky
February 13, 2013

Historical Examples of socrates

"The name of Socrates recalls Alcibiades to my mind," rejoined Anaxagoras.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Again what city ever received Plato's or Aristotle's laws, or Socrates' precepts?
The Praise of Folly
Desiderius Erasmus
Socrates said, “Let him that would move the world move first himself. ”
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
And had he not quoted Socrates in that last paragraph, it would have been expunged.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
The main discussion is carried on by Socrates, Glaucon, and Adeimantus.
The Republic
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for socrates

Socrates

noun

?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

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

socrates in Culture

Socrates

[(sok-ruh-teez)]

An ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato.

Note

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

Note

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

Note

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.