French Revolution Vocabulary

noun a fortress in Paris that was used as a state prison and was stormed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789

• The Bastille was a fortress in Paris that was used as a state prison in the 18th century.
• Let's visit the Bastille in Paris, it has an interesting history.
• I heard the party at Bastille last night was lit!
• Breaking free from my old habits felt like storming the Bastille of my mind.

noun a member of a radical political club during the French Revolution

adjective related to the Jacobins or their political views

• The Jacobin Club was a political club during the French Revolution.
• The Jacobins were a radical group in revolutionary France.
• Those Jacobins were really pushing for change back in the day.
• His views were so extreme, he was like a modern-day Jacobin.

noun a two-wheeled cart used to carry condemned prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution

• The tumbril carried the prisoners to their execution.
• The tumbril took the prisoners to their doom.
• The tumbril rolled up with the bad guys inside.
• The politician's scandal was the final nail in the tumbril of his career.