French–English dictionary

propitiation

Making amends to restore a damaged relationship; expiation.

proportion

(countable) A quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number.

proportionnel

In a commensurate manner; so as to be equal or proportionate.

proportionnellement

(of an allocation) In proportion to some factor that can be exactly calculated.

proportionnément

In proportion; in due degree; adapted relatively.

proportionner

(transitive) To make proportionate.

propos

An instance of that act or process: especially, something spoken (e.g., syllables, words, phrases); (especially, linguistics) any such thing either spoken or written.

proposer

(transitive) To invite; to summon.

proposition

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

proposition de loi

A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

propre

Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.

propre sur soi

Being habitually clean, practising good hygiene.

proprement

In a clean way, neatly.

proprement dit

(often, _, postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word. [14th c.]

propreté

The property of being cleanly, or habitually clean; good hygiene.

propriétaire

A female landlord.

propriétaire terrien

A person who owns land.

propriétaire terrienne

A person who owns land.

propriété

(computing, object-oriented programming) An option or setting belonging to some object.

propriété par étages

(US, Canada, Philippines) The system of ownership by which such condominiums operate.

propulser

(transitive) To drive forward; to propel an object, to provide an impetus for motion or action.

propulseur

anything that propels

propulsion

The process of propelling, driving, or pushing, typically forward or onward; a propulsive force or impulse.

prosciutto

A dry-cured ham from Italy, thinly sliced.

proscrire

(transitive) To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation.

proscrit

One that has been excluded from a society or system, a pariah, a leper. [from 14th c.]

proscrite

One that has been excluded from a society or system, a pariah, a leper. [from 14th c.]

prose

Language, particularly written language, not intended as poetry.

prosélytiser

(by extension, ambitransitive) To advertise a non-religious belief, way of living, cause, point of view, (scientific) hypothesis, social or other position, political party, or other organization; to convince someone to join such a cause or organization or support such a position; to recruit someone.

prospect

(marketing) Potential opportunity for a sale or transaction, a potential customer.

prospecteur

A person who explores or prospects an area in search of mineral deposits, such as gold.

prospectrice

A person who explores or prospects an area in search of mineral deposits, such as gold.

prospectus

A loose printed sheet, to be distributed by hand.

prospère

Characterized by success.

prospérer

(transitive, figuratively, of speech) To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder.

prospérité

The condition of being prosperous: having good fortune and a fortune.

prostate

The prostate gland. [from 1646]

prostatique

(anatomy) Relating to the prostate gland.

prosterner

To cause to lie down, to flatten.

prosthétique

Artificial, acting as a substitute for part of the body; relating to prosthesis.

prostitué

A person who does, or offers to do, a demeaning or dishonourable activity for money or personal gain; someone who acts in a dishonourable way for personal advantage. [from 17th c.]

prostituée

(obsolete) A churl; a common man; a person, male or female, of low birth, especially one given to low conduct.

prostituer

(intransitive) To act as a procurer of prostitutes; to pander.

prostitution

The trade of a harlot; prostitution.

prostration

Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for reflection; terror, combined with amazement; dismay.

protactinium

A chemical element (symbol Pa) with atomic number 91. A dense, silvery-gray actinide metal.

protagoniser

(transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.

protagoniste

(informal, intransitive) To act as a hero (brave person; role model; or protagonist).

protecteur

An appointed official whose duty is to investigate complaints, generally on behalf of individuals such as consumers or taxpayers, against institutions such as companies and government departments.

protection

A part of a machine which blocks access to dangerous parts.

protectionnisme

(politics, economics) A system or policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product from foreign competition by imposing tariffs, quotas, duties or other barriers on importations.

protégé

A person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced person (a protector or mentor).

protège-sexe

(cricket) A hard protector for the genitals worn inside the underpants by a batsman or close fielder.

protégée

A person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced person (a protector or mentor).

protéger

(transitive) To protect (something that is gradually maturing); to foster.

protéiforme

Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms.

protéique

(of or relating to Proteus).

protestant

(Christianity) Of or pertaining to several denominations of Christianity that separated from the Roman Catholic Church based on theological or political differences during the Reformation.

protestante

(Christianity) A member of any of several Christian denominations which separated from the Roman Catholic Church based on theological or political differences during the Reformation (or in some cases later).

protestation

Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.

protester

(transitive) To respond to in an aggressively disputatious, often sarcastic or insolent manner.

prothèse

(medicine) An artificial replacement for a body part, either internal or external.

proton

(particle) A positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark. [from 1920]

prototype

An original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models. [from late 16th c.]

protoxyde

(chemistry) Any oxide containing a single oxygen atom in each molecule or formula unit.

protubérance

An object which is sticking out from a surface; a swelling, protuberant part; a bending outward, especially when caused by pressure.

protubérant

Standing out, or projecting; jutting; protuberant.

proue

(nautical) The front of a boat or ship.

prouesse

A brave or noteworthy action; a feat or exploit.

prout

(UK, Irish, Commonwealth, derogatory, colloquial) A gay man; especially one who is effeminate.

prouter

(intransitive) To break wind; to fart.

prouvé

Having been proved; having proved its value or truth.

prouver

(transitive) To provide evidence for, or suggest the truth of.

Provence

A maritime geographic region and former province of southeastern France bordering Italy; since 2016 included in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

provende

(dated) Food, especially for livestock.

provenir

To descend in a family line.

proverbe

A proverb or proverbial expression, common saying; a frequently used word or phrase.

Proverbes

A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh, being a collection of moral maxims.

Providence

A city in Providence County, Rhode Island, the state capital and largest city.

providentiel

Fortunate, as if occurring through the intervention of Providence. [from 18th c.]

province

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

provincial

(derogatory) Characterized by an unsophisticated focus on local concerns to the exclusion of wider contexts; elementary in scope or outlook.

provincialisme

The quality of being provincial; having provincial tastes, mentality, manners.

proviseur

(chiefly, UK, Irish) A male headteacher.

proviseure

(chiefly, Commonwealth, Irish) A female headteacher.

proviseuse

(chiefly, Commonwealth, Irish) A female headteacher.

provision

A conditional provision to an agreement.

provisionner

(transitive) To supply with provisions.

provisions

Retail foodstuffs and other household supplies; the commodities sold by a grocer or in a grocery store.

provisoire

Temporary, but with the intention of eventually becoming permanent or being replaced by a permanent equivalent.

provisoirement

In a provisional way; temporarily.

provitamine

(biochemistry) Any biologically inactive compound that may be converted into a vitamin within an animal organism

provocateur

One who engages in provocative behavior.

provocation

(legal) Action by law enforcement personnel to lead an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime, in order to arrest and prosecute that person for the crime.

provocatrice

One who engages in provocative behavior.

provolone

A semi-hard cheese made of whole milk from cows. It comes primarily from Southern Italy.

provoquer

(gaming, transitive) To cause (a non-player character) to become aggressive towards the player's character.

provoquer une douleur aiguë

(intransitive) To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to be punished severely; to feel the sting of evil.

proxénète

Someone who solicits customers for prostitution and acts as manager for a group of prostitutes; a pander.

proxénétisme

The practise of managing and hiring out prostitutes.

proximité

Closeness; the state of being near as in space, time, or relationship.

proxy

(software) An interface for a service, especially for one that is remote, resource-intensive, or otherwise difficult to use directly.

pruche

Any of several coniferous trees, of the genus Tsuga, that grow in North America; the wood of such trees. [from 1670]

prude

A person who is or tries to be excessively proper, especially one who is easily offended by matters of a sexual nature.

prudemment

In a prudent manner.

Prudence

A en given name, one of the Puritan virtue names.

prudent

Careful, prudent, cautious.

pruine

The delicate, powdery coating upon certain growing or newly-gathered fruits or leaves, as on grapes, plums, etc.

prune

(comparable) Of a dark bluish-red colour.

pruneau

The edible fruit of this tree.

prunelle

(anatomy) The hole in the middle of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to be focused on the retina.

prunier

The fruit and its tree.

prurit

A sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch said area.

prussien

Of, from, or pertaining to Prussia.

pschitt

The sound of such an emission.

pschtt

(informal, demeaning) Go away! Clear off!

pseudo-

False; not genuine; fake.

pseudo-aléatoire

Of a sequence of numbers, such that it has all the properties of a random sequence following some probability distribution (except true randomness), but is actually generated using a deterministic algorithm.

pseudonyme

Another name; especially, an assumed name.

psi

(countable) The twenty-third letter of Classical and Modern Greek and the twenty-fifth letter of Old and Ancient Greek.

psoriasis

(disease) A noncontagious disease whose main symptom is gray or silvery flaky patches on the skin which are red and inflamed underneath when scratched.

psy

(slang, sometimes, pejorative) A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

psychanalyse

A family of theories and methods within the field of psychotherapy that work to find connections among patients' unconscious mental processes.

psychanalyser

(ambitransitive) To practice psychoanalysis (on).

psychanalyste

(psychiatry) A practitioner of psychoanalysis.

Psyché

(Greco-Roman mythology) The personification of the soul. Originally a mortal princess who later married Eros/Cupid, (the god of love), was deified, and bore him a daughter, Hedone/Voluptas.

psychédélique

Of, containing, generating, or reminiscent of drug-induced hallucinations, distortions of perception, altered awareness, etc.

psychiatre

A medical doctor specializing in psychiatry.

psychiatrie

(medicine) The branch of medicine that focuses on mental and behavioral health by subjectively diagnosing, treating, or preventing mental disorders (mental illnesses) and behavioural conditions.

psychiatrique

Of, or relating to, psychiatry.

psychiatriste

A medical doctor specializing in psychiatry.

psychisme

The human soul, mind, or spirit.

psycho-

Relating to the soul, the mind, or to psychology.

psychoactif

(pharmaceutical effect) Affecting the mind or mental processes.

psychologiquement

In a psychological sense.

psychologue

An expert in the field of psychology.

psychopathe

(chiefly, derogatory, slang) A person who is psychotic, psychopathic, or (broadly) otherwise insane.

psychopathie

A personality disorder characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits masked by superficial charm and the outward presence of apparent normality. Violent and criminal offenses may be indicative of this disorder.

psychopathique

Exhibiting the behaviors and personality traits of a psychopath.

psychopathologie

(medicine, pathology) The study of the origin, development, diagnosis and treatment of mental and behavioural disorders.

psychose

(psychology) A severe mental disorder, sometimes with physical damage to the brain, marked by a deranged personality and a distorted view of reality.

psychosocial

(of behaviour) Having both psychological and social aspects.

psychosomatique

(medicine, psychology) Pertaining to physical diseases, symptoms etc. which have mental causes.

psychothérapeute

Someone who practices psychotherapy.

psychothérapie

The treatment of people diagnosed with mental and emotional disorders using dialogue and a variety of psychological techniques.

psychotique

(informal) Overly anxious.

psychotrope

(pharmaceutical effect) Affecting the mind or mental processes.

ptdr

(Internet slang, text messaging) Lots of laughs. (occasionally used)

ptéridium

(uncountable, countable) Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock.

Ptolémée

A en given name of Greek origin, borne by historical persons in ancient Egypt.