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Thermidor

American  
[thur-mi-dawr, ter-mee-dawr] / ˈθɜr mɪˌdɔr, tɛr miˈdɔr /

noun

  1. Also called Fervidor. (in the French Revolutionary calendar) the 11th month of the year, extending from July 19 to August 17.

  2. (sometimes lowercase) lobster thermidor.


Thermidor British  
/ tɛrmidɔr /

noun

  1. Also: Fervidor. the month of heat: the eleventh month of the French revolutionary calendar, extending from July 20 to Aug 18

"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

Etymology

Origin of Thermidor

1820–30; < French < Greek thérm ( ē ) heat + dôr ( on ) gift; cf. -i-

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Thermidor, as defined by Messrs. Haenni and Drevon, marked “the moment when the revolution confronted political reality” and was “forced to compromise on its initial ideas and promises.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025

You are an artist, things are going your way, and it is 9 Thermidor, Year Two — or July 27, 1794, before your fellow revolutionaries changed the calendar.

From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022

In Iceland, passengers on the Viking Sky consoled themselves with meals of lobster Thermidor and Dover sole after similarly being turned away from nearly every port they intended to visit.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2021

“This country has nothing to offer,” said 36-year-old Thermidor Joam.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 10, 2021

First it swings off to one extreme, as it did in '93, and then started back on the Tenth Thermidor.

From When a Cobbler Ruled a King by Augusta Huiell Seaman

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