Girondist (Noun)
Meaning
A member of the moderate republican party that was in power during the French Revolution; the Girondists were overthrown by their more radical rivals the Jacobins.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The Girondists' call for greater autonomy and representative democracy set them apart from the more radical Jacobins.
- Many prominent Girondists, including Jean-Sylvain Bailly and Honoré Mirabeau, would eventually meet their ends at the guillotine.
- As a Girondist, Madame Roland was fiercely critical of the violence and extremism perpetuated by the Jacobins.
- During the Reign of Terror, the Jacobins systematically purged the Girondists from power and silenced their moderate voices.
- In the power struggle that ultimately led to the rise of the Committee of Public Safety, the Girondists proved no match for the better-organized Jacobins.