Robespierre

A surname from French

Proper noun

  1. A surname from French

    1. The French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre, 1758–1794. Often used as a byword for a murderous demagogue or tyrant.

      • Why, Greeley wants to be blood-thirsty — he wants to be a little Robespierre. - 1863, Edward Dicey, Spectator of America, Quadrangle, published 1971, page 25:
      • "I am not, as you have seen, a Robespierre, and I don't even want to be thought of as a military dictator," said Col Gonatas, leader of the revolutionary movement, […] - 1922 October 2, “Gonatas Not a Robespierre”, in...
      • During communications blackouts when Allison, who was the Robespierre of the ship, forbade all outside contacts, Taggart lurched out onto the aft deck, […] - 2007, Peter Heller, The Whale Warriors, →ISBN, page 64:

Derived

Robespierrean Robespierrism Robespierrist