French–English dictionary

prédiabète

The state in which blood glucose levels are above normal but have not reached those of diabetes.

prédicament

A definite class, state or condition.

prédicateur

Someone who preaches a worldview, philosophy, or religion, especially someone who preaches the gospel and especially a clergyman or clergywoman. In a religious context, usually used only to refer to Protestant Christian clergy.

prédictible

Able to be predicted.

prédictif

Useful in predicting.

prédiction

A statement of what will happen in the future.

prédilection

A condition of favoring or liking; a tendency towards; proclivity; predisposition.

prédire

(transitive) To foretell (something), especially by the use of divination.

prédisposé

Inclined.

prédisposition

The state of being predisposed or susceptible to something, especially to a behavior or a health condition.

prédominance

The quality or condition of being prevalent; wide extension or spread.

prédominant

Common or widespread; prevalent.

prédominer

(intransitive) To be current, widespread, or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.

prééminent

Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important. [from 15th c.]

préemptif

Of or relating to preemption.

préfacer

(transitive) To introduce or make a comment before (the main point); to premise.

préfatoire

Serving as a preface or prelude; introductory, preliminary. [from 1670s]

préfecture

(historical, Ancient Rome) A district of the Roman Empire at the third echelon

préférable

Better than some other option; preferred.

préférablement

In preference; by choice; in a preferable manner.

préféré

A person or thing who enjoys special regard or favour.

préférence

(chiefly, in the plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).

préférences

(computing) The user-specified settings of parameters in interactive computer software

préférentiel

Of or relating to the showing or giving of preference.

préférer

(transitive) To be in the habit of choosing something rather than something else; to favor; to like better. [from 14th c.]

préfigurer

(often in a Biblical context) To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand.

préfixer

(transitive) To put or fix before, or at the beginning of something; to place at the start. [from 16thc.]

préfrontal

Of, pertaining to or situated in the anterior part of the frontal lobe.

prégnance

The condition of being salient.

préjudice

(chiefly, obsolete) Mischief; hurt; damage; injury; detriment.

préjudiciable

Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.

préjugé

(countable, uncountable) Inclination towards something.

prélat

A clergyman of high rank and authority, having jurisdiction over an area or a group of people; normally a bishop.

prélèvement

The act of levying.

prélever

(transitive) To tap off high-pressure gas (usually air) from a system that produces high-pressure gas primarily for another purpose.

préliminaire

In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

préliminaires

(sex) The acts at the beginning of a (usually human) sexual encounter that serve to build up sexual arousal.

prématurément

In a premature manner; too soon or too early.

préméditation

The act of planning or plotting something in advance, especially a crime.

prémédité

Planned, considered, or estimated in advance; deliberate.

premier

Of or belonging to a first family.

premier avril

The first day in April, when tricks and practical jokes are traditionally played

premier ministre

(politics, non-Westminster) The government leader in a legislative congress or leader of a government-level administrative body; the head of government.

premier plan

The leading position or edge.

premier-né

The first child to be born to a parent or family.

première

A performer's first performance to the public, in sport, the arts or some other area.

première lettre

The first letter of a word or a name, especially of a person's full name (their initials).

première pierre

Such a stone used ceremonially, often inscribed with the architect's and owner's names, dates and other details.

premièrement

Before anything else; firstly.

prémisse

(logic) The minor or second proposition in a categorical syllogism.

prémolaire

A tooth with two cusps; a premolar tooth.

prems

(informal) Used to claim this right.

prenant

Very beautiful or attractive.

prénatal

Being or happening before birth.

prendre

To adopt (an idea or cause)

prendre à la légère

(idiomatic) To regard without due seriousness; to joke about.

prendre congé

To bid farewell or say goodbye.

prendre de [[l']]avance sur

(transitive) To run faster than.

prendre de haut

(transitive) To assume a tone of unjustified superiority toward; to talk down to, to treat condescendingly.

prendre de la valeur

(intransitive, transitive) To increase in value.

prendre de vitesse

(idiomatic, transitive) To carry out an action before another person is able to do so.

prendre déjeuner

(transitive) To treat to lunch.

prendre du bon temps

(intransitive, slang) To relax; to lie back; to take things easy.

prendre en filature

(particularly, espionage) To secretly or discreetly track or follow another, to keep under surveillance.

prendre garde

(intransitive, idiom) To be vigilant and aware often as an imperative to alert a person to danger.

prendre la fuite

(intransitive) To run away; to escape.

prendre la main dans le sac

(transitive, slang) To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.

prendre le petit-déjeuner

(intransitive) To eat the morning meal.

prendre note

(transitive) To record in writing; to make a memorandum of.

prendre par surprise

(transitive, figurative, informal) To catch off guard; to take by surprise.

prendre part

(intransitive) To join in, to take part, to involve oneself (in something). [from 16th c.]

prendre plaisir

(transitive) To receive pleasure or satisfaction from something.

prendre pour acquis

(transitive, of a thing) To assume something to be true without verification or proof.

prendre sa retraite

(intransitive) To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness.

prendre sa source

To become agitated, opposed, or hostile; to go to war; to take up arms; to rebel.

prendre son essor

(surfing) To stand up on a surfboard and begin to surf a breaking wave.

prendre son vol

(idiomatic) To begin flying; to become airborne or aloft; to take off and fly

prendre sur soi

(transitive) To receive or admit to; to agree to; to assent to; to submit to.

prendre un bain

(intransitive) To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.

prendre un ris

(nautical) To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.

prendre un tour

(transitive, sports, motor racing) To overtake a straggler in a race by completing one more whole lap than the straggler.

prendre une douche

To bathe using a shower.

preneur d'assurance

(insurance) The party to an insurance contract who transfers a risk to an insurer.

prénuptial

Before marriage; before getting married.

préoccupant

(of things) Accompanied with, or causing, anxiety; worrying.

préoccupation

The state of being bemused.

préoccupations

(uncountable) A state of disquiet, uneasiness, or anxiety.

préoccupé

Showing concern.

préoccuper

(transitive) To relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to.

préopératoire

Prior to surgery.

préparatif

(uncountable) The act of preparing or getting ready.

préparatifs

(obsolete) The act of getting ready; preparation. [17th–18th c.]

préparation

(uncountable) The act of preparing or getting ready.

préparation pour nourrissons

(countable, uncountable) Ellipsis of infant formula, drink given to babies to substitute for mother's milk.

préparatoire

Of or pertaining to preparation, having the purpose of making something or someone ready, preparative.

préparé

(followed by the preposition to) Disposed, willing, ready (to do something).

préparer

To supply or make up a medicine or prescription.

prépayé

(British) A payment method where the charge of a service is taken automatically, usually in small amounts, after the usage, in contrast of paying before usage. Used especially of mobile phones and transport ticketing.

prépayer

To pay in advance, or beforehand

prépondérance

Superiority of influence, power, a quality, etc.; an outweighing, predominance, pre-eminence.

préposition

(grammar, strict sense) Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word: a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word.

prépositionner

(sometimes, proscribed) .

prépuce

(anatomy) The nerve-dense, retractable fold of skin which covers and protects the head of the penis in humans and some other mammals.

prequel

(narratology) In a series of works, an installment that is set chronologically before its predecessor, especially the original narrative or (perhaps improper usage) any narrative work with at least one sequel.

préquelle

(narratology) In a series of works, an installment that is set chronologically before its predecessor, especially the original narrative or (perhaps improper usage) any narrative work with at least one sequel.

prérégler

(transitive) To adjust in advance.

prérequis

Required as a prior condition of something else; necessary or indispensable.

près

At little distance; near in space or time.

près de

Near or next to.

présage

(literature, usually, uncountable) A literary device whereby an author drops hints or symbolic representations of plot developments to come later in the story.

présager

(ambitransitive) To indicate by signs, as future events; to be an omen of; to portend or foretell.

presbytère

(obsolete) The house, lands, tithes, etc. set apart for the support of the minister of a parish.

presbytérien

Relating to Presbyterianism.

prescience

The ability to foresee or prepare wisely for the future.

préscolaire

Of or relating to the years of early childhood before attendance at primary school.

prescription

(medicine, pharmacy, pharmacology) A written order from an authorized medical practitioner for provision of a medicine or other treatment, such as (ophthalmology) the specific lenses needed for a pair of glasses.

prescription extinctive

(figurative) Any plan of treatment or handling; the treatment or handling thus provided.

prescription libératoire

(figurative) Any plan of treatment or handling; the treatment or handling thus provided.

prescriptivisme

(linguistics) The practice of prescribing idealistic norms, as opposed to describing realistic forms, of linguistic usage.

prescrire

(medicine) To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).

préséance

The state of preceding in importance or priority.

présence

The act of attending; the state of being present; presence.

présent

(transitive) To be present at (an event or place) in order to take part in some action or proceedings; also, to regularly go to (an event or place). [from 17th c.]

présentateur

(television) An anchorman or anchorwoman.

présentation

A means, such as a personal letter, of presenting one person to another.

présentatrice

A female anchorperson.

présentement

At the present time; in the current era. [from 14th c.]

présenter

(transitive, chiefly, US) to formally introduce, as to the public

présenter des excuses

(intransitive) To express regret that a certain event has occurred.

présentoir

A device, furniture or marketing-oriented bulk packaging for visual presentation for sales promotion.

préservatif

(countable, North America, slang) A condom, especially an external condom.

préservation

The act of preserving, guarding, or protecting; the keeping (of a thing) in a safe or entire state; preservation.

préserver

To protect; to keep from harm or injury.

président

(politics) .

présidente

A chairman or chairwoman, someone who presides over a meeting, board, etc.

présidentiel

Pertaining to a president or presidency. [from 17th c.]

présider

(transitive) To act as chairperson at; to preside over.

présomptif

Often postpositive, as in heir presumptive: of an heir or heiress: presumed to be entitled to inherit unless someone with a superior entitlement is born.

présomption

(legal) An inference that a trier of fact is either permitted or required to draw under certain factual circumstances (as prescribed by statute or case law) unless the party against whom the inference is drawn is able to rebut it with admissible, competent evidence.

présomptueux

Too confident.

presqu'île

(geography) A piece of land projecting into water from a larger land mass.

presque

Very nearly; everything short of. Most often precedes a verb or adjective.

pressant

Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.

presse

All the various forms of communicating news to the public collectively.

presse dominicale

(informal) A newspaper published on Sunday.

presse spécialisée

(only as plural) A publication intended for participants in an industry or related group of industries.

presse-agrumes

A manual or electrical device used for rendering the juice of fruits or vegetables.

presse-citron

A device used to extract juice from lemons by crushing the lemon using the sharp middle part.

presse-papier

A small, decorative, somewhat weighty object placed on one or more pieces of paper to keep them from fluttering away.

presse-papiers

(computing) A buffer in memory where the user can store data temporarily while transferring it from one place within an application to another or between applications.