Thucydides

American  

[thoo-sid-i-deez] / θuˈsɪd ɪˌdiz /

noun

1. c460–c400 b.c., Greek historian.

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Thucydides British  

/ θuːˈsɪdɪˌdiːz /

noun

1. ?460–?395 _bc , Greek historian and politician, distinguished for his History of the Peloponnesian War

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Thucydides Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek historian and general. Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War, in which he fought, is famous for its careful reporting of events and its sharp analysis of causes and effects.

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Other Word Forms

• Thucydidean adjective

Example Sentences

Perhaps Thucydides had something to say about the folly of war that they wouldn’t have appreciated had they remained civilians.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

Thucydides was partial to naturalistic explanation and, no stranger to eclipses himself, might well have offered Pericles’ nervous helmsman a cloak.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

He was the first to print editions of Aristotle, Thucydides, Herodotus and Sophocles; the first to use italic type; and the first to use the semicolon in its modern sense.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024

The Thucydides Trap is a political term for the tendency of major clashes when an emerging power challenges an existing power.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2023

“Into politics, of which I have taken final leave....I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides, for Newton and Euclid; and I find myself much happier.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis