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effleurer — meaning in English

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English meaning

  • brush noun A tool with bristles attached to a handle, used for cleaning, painting, or grooming hair.
  • graze verb To eat growing grass, or to let animals feed on pasture.
  • kiss verb To touch someone with your lips as a sign of love, affection, or greeting.
  • scrape verb To drag something rough or sharp across a surface, often removing a layer or leaving a mark.
  • skim verb To read something quickly, picking up only the main points.

Senses

effleurer is used for these senses in English:

  • brush (ambitransitive) To touch with a sweeping motion, or lightly in passing.
  • graze (transitive) To rub or touch lightly the surface of (a thing) in passing.
  • kiss (ambitransitive) To (cause to) touch lightly or slightly; to come into contact.
  • scrape (transitive) To injure or damage by rubbing across a surface.
  • skim (transitive) To pass near the surface of; to brush the surface of; to glide swiftly along the surface of.
  • touch on (transitive, idiomatic) To mention briefly; to cursorily discuss.

brush — full definition

  1. noun A tool with bristles attached to a handle, used for cleaning, painting, or grooming hair.
  2. noun A brief, unpleasant encounter with something.
  3. noun Wild, low-growing vegetation such as shrubs and bushes.
  4. verb To clean, arrange, or apply something using a brush.
  5. verb To touch something lightly while passing by.

graze — full definition

  1. verb To eat growing grass, or to let animals feed on pasture.
  2. verb To touch or rub something lightly while passing it, sometimes scraping the skin.
  3. noun A minor scrape or scratch on the skin.

Related French words