Thermidor

noun

Ther·mi·dor

ˈthərməˌdȯ(ə)r;

ˈthə̄məˌdȯ(ə),

ˈthəim-,

+V "or -dȯ(ə)r

plural -s

: a moderate counterrevolutionary stage following an extremist stage of a revolution and usually characterized often through the medium of a dictatorship by an emphasis on the restoration of order, a relaxation of tensions, and some return to patterns of life held to be normal

Word History

Etymology

French Thermidor, month of the French revolutionary calendar beginning July 19; from the overthrow of Robespierre which took place in that month in 1794