Toynbee

American  

[toin-bee] / ˈtɔɪn bi /

noun

1. Arnold J(oseph), 1889–1975, English historian.

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Toynbee British  

/ ˈtɔɪnbɪ /

noun

1. Arnold 1852–83, British economist and social reformer, after whom Toynbee Hall , a residential settlement in East London, is named

2. his nephew, Arnold Joseph . 1889–1975, British historian. In his chief work, A Study of History (1934–61), he attempted to analyse the principles determining the rise and fall of civilizations

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Example Sentences

The British historian Arnold Toynbee saw the Industrial Revolution as “a period as disastrous and terrible as any through which a nation ever passed.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

Ikeda was not without critics, including British journalist Polly Toynbee, who said he took advantage of her grandfather’s frailty and trusting character after she was invited to meet Ikeda in the mid-1980s.

From Reuters • Nov. 18, 2023

Toynbee, who has a wife and adult children, said he is used to being away from family.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 26, 2023

For Benedict, the main concern was perhaps best summed up by the British historian Alfred J. Toynbee, whom Benedict often quoted: “Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”

From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2022

Toynbee was especially interested in the internal dynamics of 23 advanced civilizations, of which 22 were literate and 19 were Eurasian.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond