Thoreau

American

[thuh-roh, thawr-oh, thohr-oh] / θəˈroʊ, ˈθɔr oʊ, ˈθoʊr oʊ /

noun

Henry David, 1817–62, U.S. naturalist and author.

Thoreau British

/ ˈθɔːrəʊ, θɔːˈrəʊ /

noun

Henry David. 1817–62, US writer, noted esp for Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854), an account of his experiment in living in solitude. A powerful social critic, his essay Civil Disobedience (1849) influenced such dissenters as Gandhi

"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

Other Word Forms

Thoreauvian

adjective

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.

When most people think of the foundational figures in American environmentalism, they likely conjure up such wistful white Transcendentalists as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott.

From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau published “Walden,” which advocated for withdrawing from mechanized society.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Thoreau refused to pay, and was hauled off to jail.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax, objecting to slavery and the Mexican War.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Gandhi had read Henry David Thoreau, who advocated exactly this view.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023