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Socrates

[ sok-ruh-teez ]
/ ˈsɒk rəˌtiz /
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noun
469?–399 b.c., Athenian philosopher.
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OTHER WORDS FROM Socrates

an·ti-Soc·ra·tes, adjectivepro-Soc·ra·tes, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Socrates in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Socrates

Socrates
/ (ˈsɒkrəˌtiːz) /

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

Cultural definitions for Socrates

Socrates
[ (sok-ruh-teez) ]

An ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato.

notes for Socrates

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

notes for Socrates

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

notes for Socrates

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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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