Ancien Regime (Noun)
Meaning
A political and social system that no longer governs (especially the system that existed in France before the French Revolution).
Classification
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects.
Examples
- The aristocracy's fear of losing power was rooted in their dependency on the ancient traditions of the ancien régime.
- The French Revolution sought to dismantle the social and economic structures of the ancien régime.
- Historians often attribute the downfall of the French monarchy to the failures of the ancien régime.
- As the new National Assembly took power, it set about dismantling the institutions of the ancien régime.
- Louis XVI's eventual execution was seen as a decisive break with the ancien régime and all it represented.