1. Paper money issued by the French government during the Revolutionary period (late 18th century), originally backed by confiscated church lands.
Usage: historical; plural form; singular is assignat; primarily used in historical and economic contexts

Examples

• The assignats were introduced in 1789 as a way to finance the French Revolution.
• Citizens were required to accept assignats as legal tender during the Revolutionary period.
• The value of assignats declined sharply due to overprinting and inflation.
• Historians study assignats as an early example of fiat currency.
• By the late 1790s, assignats had become nearly worthless.