Carbonari

//ˌkɑɹbəˈnɑɹi// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    member or members of the carboneria secret society

    "I saw Sir Hudson Lowe standing on the same rug with one of Buonaparte's old generals; one of our Tory members, to whom innovation is the 'word of fear,' who considers anarchy and annihilation as synonymous, shrinking in the doorway from the carbonari atmosphere of General Pepi."

  2. 2
    Members of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy, often with a patriotic and liberal focus. historical, plural, plural-normally

Synonyms

All synonyms
anarchistbolshevikcharleycommunistjacobinmaoist

Example

More examples

"After alluding airily to the Vehmgericht, aqua tofana, Carbonari, the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, the Darwinian theory, the principles of Malthus, and the Ratcliff Highway murders, the article concluded by admonishing the Government and advocating a closer watch over foreigners in England."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Italian carbonari, plural of carbonaro.

Etymology 2

From Italian carbonari, plural of carbonaro (dialectal, literally “charcoal burner”), from carbone (“coal”). Cognate with carbonara.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.