🧐 Witty or critical 🗽 Support for freedom 🤔 A supporter of reason

Voltairean

9.5

Showing clever, often funny doubt and criticism of accepted ideas

adjective
/voʊlˈtɛr.i.ən/

Formal

: volteriano

His Voltairean wit often left audiences in stitches.

Examples

The novel is filled with Voltairean humor and sharp observations about society.
His Voltairean remarks challenged the assumptions of the entire panel.
She admired his Voltairean approach to questioning authority and tradition.
She made a Voltairean argument against censorship.
The author's wit was unmistakably Voltairean, filled with sharp criticism and humor that challenged societal norms.
Her Voltairean perspective on religious tolerance sparked meaningful discussions among her peers.
With a Voltairean skepticism, he questioned the validity of popular beliefs and encouraged others to think critically.

Synonyms

Voltarean

vsVoltairean

Formal

9.9

Showing sharp, clever irony and doubt like the writer Voltaire

is the same meaning but spelled with a different form

Voltarian

vsVoltairean

Formal

9.9

A style that uses witty, ironic, and sharp criticism like the writer Voltaire

is the same meaning but written with an alternate spelling

Voltairian

vsVoltairean

Formal

9.9

Like Voltaire's ideas, showing doubt, sharp wit, and criticism of authority

is the same idea but differs only in spelling form

How Skeptical

scathing

19 7.7

sardonic

9 8.1

Voltairean

Formal

9.5

skeptical

286 4.2

questioning

3.9

credulous

7 8.3

Surface Forms

Voltairean positive

Morphology

Voltairean = Voltaire (transparent) = Voltaire + ean

The adjective is a straightforward relational formation from the proper name Voltaire using the productive suffix '-ean', so its meaning is clear if the name is known.

Etymology

Voltairean comes from the name Voltaire, a famous French writer who used sharp 'wit' and often questioned people in power. So calling a remark Voltairean means it is clever, funny, and ready to question accepted ideas.