bel esprit


Also found in: Thesaurus.

bel es·prit

 (bĕl′ ĕ-sprē′)
n. pl. beaux es·prits (bō′zĕ-sprē′)
A cultivated, highly intelligent person.

[French : bel, fine + esprit, mind.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bel esprit

(bɛl ɛspri)
n, pl beaux esprits (boz ɛspri)
a witty or clever person
[literally: fine wit]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.bel esprit - a witty or clever person with a fine mindbel esprit - a witty or clever person with a fine mind
intellectual, intellect - a person who uses the mind creatively
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in classic literature ?
(All old women were beauties once, we very well know.) She was a bel esprit, and a dreadful Radical for those days.
Raoul remained silent, for he was not prepared for the dignity of the bel esprit.
Preuve est ainsi donnee d'un bel esprit de responsabilite et de precision, ne laissant rien au hasard ni au delire de l'interpretation.
At Caulfield in Melbourne, Godolphin's Java, who strung together four wins between December 2014 and January 2015, had to settle for the 11th position in the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes.
SARABAND'S SELECTIONS CHEPSTOW: 2.00 Danisa, 2.30 Crackerjack, 3.05 Overnight Flame, 3.40 Solstice Son (nap), 4.15 Camden, 4.50 Nipper John, 5.20 Bel Esprit.
CHEPSTOW: 2.00 Danisa, 2.30 Crackerjack, 3.05 Overnight Flame, 3.40 Solstice Son, 4.15 Camden, 4.50 Nipper John, 5.20 Bel Esprit.
About Bel EspritShowroom International and the Bel Esprit Showroom are bringing their signature Style Lounge to Las Vegas Fashion Week, presenting fashion from couture to sportswear, and accessory and jewelry collections to buyers and press on Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.
Called Bel Esprit, the effort was to release Eliot from the bank.
[USPRwire, Wed Feb 20 2013] Bel Essence has joined the Bel Esprit Showroom as a sponsor of showroom events and campaigns promoting ecological and ethical designers.
Le ministre de l'Interieur et des Collectivites locales, Daho Ould Kablia, est convaincu que l'installation des Assemblees populaires communales (APC) issues du scrutin du 29 novembre dernier s'est effectuee dans un bel esprit civique.
It's not Pound the editor we see in "Ezra Pound and His Bel Esprit," however, but Pound the dreamer.
She offers a useful glossary for this conflict, explaining how Marivaux initially contested his status as a bel esprit, and then challenged the philosophes' denigration of that concept.