fainéant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Another example is Arthur, in some romances "the blameless king," in others un roi fainéant.

From Homer and His Age by Lang, Andrew

The government of a native state by clerks and chuprassies, with a beautiful fainéant Political Agent for Sundays and Hindu festivals, is, I am told, a thing of the past.

From Twenty-One Days in India; and, the Teapot Series by Aberigh-Mackay, George Robert

The best answer can be found in the story of the Colony, for the General Assembly, at all events, has never been a fainéant ruler.

From The Long White Cloud by Reeves, William Pember

Accomplished antiquarians and “commissioners” assisted him in his labours; but he was no roi fainéant on the editorial sofa which he so complacently describes.

From Dickens English Men of Letters by Ward, Adolphus William, Sir

And whereas Sieyès condemned his grand functionary to the repose of a roi fainéant, Bonaparte secured to him practically all the powers assigned by Sieyès to the Consuls for Peace and for War.

From The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 1 of 2) by Rose, John Holland