French–English dictionary

sens

The denotation, referent, or idea connected with a word, expression, or symbol.

sens antihoraire

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, of movement) In a circular fashion so as to be moving to the left at the top of the circle and to the right at the bottom (when viewed from the front), in the opposite direction to the hands of an analog clock.

sens commun

Ordinary sensible understanding; one's basic intelligence which allows for plain understanding and without which good decisions or judgments cannot be made.

sens des aiguilles d’une montre

In a curve or twist corresponding to the movement of the hands of a clock.

sens du spectacle

The quality or skill of giving an engaging or compelling performance; a stage presence.

sens horaire

In a curve or twist corresponding to the movement of the hands of a clock.

sens inverse des aiguilles d’une montre

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, of movement) In a circular fashion so as to be moving to the left at the top of the circle and to the right at the bottom (when viewed from the front), in the opposite direction to the hands of an analog clock.

sensass

(originally, US, now, British, and, Irish) Wonderful, very good or impressive.

sensation

Sensation, particularly through the skin.

sensationnel

(informal) Possessing uniquely wonderful qualities; very good.

sensé

Acting with or showing good sense; able to make good judgements based on reason or wisdom, or reflecting such ability.

sensibilité

A vague understanding.

sensible

Showing mercy.

sensiblement

(degree) To a detectable degree, sufficient to be noticed.

sensiblerie

An act or state of being sentimental.

sensoriel

Of the physical senses or sensation.

sensorimoteur

(biology) Of or pertaining to both sensory and motor activity

sensualisme

(epistemology) The doctrine that all knowledge not only originates in sensation, but are transformed sensations, copies or relics of sensations; sensationalism.

sensuel

Appealing to the senses, or to sensual gratification.

sentence

The power or faculty of performing such operations; especially, when unqualified, the faculty of judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely.

sentencieux

Tending to use aphorisms or maxims; especially, to such an extent as to engage in trite moralizing, even self-righteously so.

sentient

(loosely, chiefly, science fiction) Possessing human-like awareness and intelligence.

sentier

Any set path or trail to be used by people walking.

sentier de la guerre

(figurative) A course of action that leads to battle or hostility.

sentiment

Sensation, particularly through the skin.

sentiment de culpabilité

Regret for having done wrong.

sentiment de danger

Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness, or despair.

sentimental

Emotionally sensitive.

sentimentalité

An act or state of being sentimental.

sentimentalité à l'eau de rose

(figuratively) Excessive, showy sentimentality.

sentine

(nautical) The lowest inner part of a ship's hull, where water accumulates.

sentinelle

A person on watch for approaching enemy, police, danger, etc.

sentir

(intransitive, copulative) To experience an emotion or other mental state.

Séoul

The capital city of South Korea, also the historical capital of Korea from 1394 until the country was divided in 1945.

sépale

(botany) One of the component parts of the calyx, particularly when such components are not fused into a single structure.

séparateur

One who or that which divides or separates.

séparation

(mineralogy) Separation from a mass, and gathering about centers or into cavities at hand through cohesive or adhesive attraction or the crystallizing process.

séparation des pouvoirs

A theoretical model for governance, common in democratic states, which features the division of sovereign power into at least three (but sometimes up to six) organs of state in order to forestall tyranny, by preventing the acquisition of a monopoly of power by a monarch or oligarchy; also, such an arrangement.

séparatisme

A theory or doctrine which supports a state of separation between organizations, institutions, or other societal groups (e.g. between church and state) or between different political jurisdictions (e.g. a country and its former colony).

séparatiste

Having broken away from a larger unit.

séparé

Excluded from consideration.

séparément

Excluded from consideration.

séparer

(transitive) To affect negatively or cause discord between (someone) and another person.

sépia

Of a dark reddish-brown colour.

sepsis

(pathology) A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection.

sept

A numerical value equal to 7; the number following six and preceding eight. This many dots: (•••••••). Describing a group or set with seven elements.

Septante

(bible) An influential Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible produced in Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

septembre

The ninth month of the Gregorian calendar, following August and preceding October, containing the southward equinox.

septentrional

Of, facing, situated in, or related to the north; northerly.

septicémie

(pathology) The presence in the bloodstream of microorganisms or their toxins in a sufficient quantity to cause serious illness; sepsis or septicemia.

septième

The ordinal form of the number seven.

septique

Of or pertaining to sewage or the disposal of sewage.

sépulcre

A burial chamber.

sépulture

The act of burying; interment; placing remains into the earth.

séquelles

That which happens after, that which follows, usually of strongly negative connotation in most contexts, implying a preceding catastrophe.

séquence

(mathematics) An ordered list of objects, typically indexed with natural numbers.

séquestration

The state of being entrapped.

séquestrer

To separate from all external influence; to seclude; to withdraw.

séquoia

(uncountable) Wood of the species Sequoia sempervirens.

sérail

A palace of a sultan.

séraphin

(informal, chiefly, derogatory) Stingy; mean; excessively frugal.

séraphique

Of or relating to a seraph or the seraphim.

Serbe

A person of Serb descent (not necessarily from Serbia). (Compare Serbian.)

serbet

A traditional West and South Asian sweet drink prepared from fruits or flower petals.

Serbie

A country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Official name: Republic of Serbia. Capital and largest city: Belgrade. Part of Yugoslavia until 1992, then part of Serbia and Montenegro until 2006.

Sercq

A minor river in Dumfries and Galloway council area and Cumbria, forming part of the border between Scotland and England, which flows into the tidal Esk at Gretna; in full, the River Sark.

sérénader

(transitive) To sing or play a serenade for (someone).

sérendipité

An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident.

sérendipiteux

by serendipity; by unexpected good fortune

sérénité

The state of being serene; calmness; peacefulness.

serf

A man who is bound in servitude.

serge

A thick, soft, usually woolen cloth resembling felt; often colored green and used for coverings on card tables, billiard and snooker tables, etc.

sergent

The highest rank of noncommissioned officer in some non-naval military forces and police.

Sergueï

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Серге́й (Sergéj).

sérialisme

(music) Music, especially from the 20th century, in which themes are based on a definite order of notes of an equal-tempered scale.

série

A number of things that follow on one after the other or are connected one after the other.

sérieusement

(speech act, idiomatic) Used to attempt to state a serious point in a jocular conversation.

sérieux

Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; important.

serin

Any of various small finches in the genus Serinus, with largely yellow plumage.

seringue

A device consisting of a hypodermic needle, a chamber for containing liquids, and a piston for applying pressure (to inject) or reducing pressure (to draw); a hypodermic syringe.

sériosité

The state or quality of being serious.

serment

Fidelity to one's lord or master; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.

sermon

A tirade, harsh scolding or rant, whether spoken or written.

sermonner

(ambitransitive) To give a forceful and lengthy lecture or criticism to someone.

sérotonine

(neurotransmitter) An indoleamine neurotransmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine, that is involved in depression, appetite, etc., and is crucial in maintaining a sense of well-being, security, etc.

serpe

A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.

serpent

A traitor or hypocrite, such as a co-worker or friend assumed trustworthy but who figuratively attacks when one's back is turned.

serpent à sonnettes

Any of various venomous American snakes, of genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, having a rattle at the end of its tail.

serpenter

(intransitive) To follow or move in a winding route.

serpentin

Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of snakes.

serpentine

Any of species Dracunculus vulgaris of aroid plants.

serpette

A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.

serpillage

The process of cleaning with a mop.

serpiller

(transitive) To rub, scrub, clean or wipe with a mop, or as if with a mop.

serpillière

A cloth, normally of flannel, used for cleaning floors.

serration

(countable) A set of teeth or notches.

serre

A large greenhouse or hothouse for the display of plants

serre-écrou

(Commonwealth, UK, Irish) A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts.

serre-poignet

A strip of material worn around the wrist, e.g. to absorb perspiration, especially in sports.

serre-tête

A strip of fabric worn around the head.

serrer

(transitive, intransitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp.

serrer les dents

(idiomatic) To accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to proceed.

serrure

Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.

serrurier

One who practices locksmithing.

sertir

(electricity) To fasten by bending metal so that it squeezes around the parts to be fastened.

sérum

Blood serum used as a blood product, in the practice of medicine: blood serum from the tissues of immunized animals (human or nonhuman), containing antibodies and used to transfer immunity to another individual (human or nonhuman).

servage

The state of being a slave; slavery; being forced to work for others or do their bidding without one's consent or against one's will, either in perpetuity or for a period of time over which one has little or no control.

servant

(literary, or, puristic, otherwise, archaic) Slave; one under the control of another.

servante

A female non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a female pet, especially a dog.

serve

A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition and control.

serveur

(computing) A program that provides services to other programs or devices, either in the same computer or over a computer network.

serveuse

A male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar.

serviable

Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.

service

(countable, uncountable) That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.

service à la clientèle

The act of providing services to customers before, during and after a purchase.

service client

The act of providing services to customers before, during and after a purchase.

service clientèle

The act of providing services to customers before, during and after a purchase.

service militaire obligatoire

Involuntary labor, especially military service, demanded by some established authority.

services

(chiefly, UK) Eating or serving utensils such as knives, forks, and spoons.

serviette

A case used for carrying documents, especially for business.

serviette de toilette

A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, such as a person after a bath.

servile

(grammar) A verb that accompanies the main verb in a clause in order to make distinctions in tense, mood, voice or aspect.

servir

(intransitive) To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.

serviteresse

One who serves.

serviteur

Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.

serviteuse

One who serves.

servitude

The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.

servomécanisme

Any system which controls motion automatically using feedback.

ses

Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).

sésame

Any successful means of achieving a result, especially means that are magical or technical, or otherwise beyond the understanding of most people.

sesseyement

The act or a habit of lisping.

session

A period of time devoted to a particular activity.

set

(in plural, “sets”, mathematics, informal) Set theory.

Seth

(Egyptian god) An ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction.

setter

Any of several long-haired breeds of hunting dog that set when they have scented game.

seuil

The point at which something terminates or to which it is limited.

seuil de tolérance

The point where one is mentally or physically vulnerable in response to a provocation or to other nuisances.

seul

By oneself, solitary.

seulement

(obsolete) Only; solely; merely.

seulement si

Only if (the stipulation that follows is true).

sève

(uncountable) A liquid from a plant, especially fruit.

Sévère

An ancient Roman cognomen, notably that of Septimius Severus.

sévèrement

In a severe manner.

sévérité

The state of being severe.

sévice

Cruel or harmful treatment or abuse; mistreatment.

Séville

The capital city of Andalusia, Spain.

sevivon

A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ, ג, ה, and ש (or פ) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

sevrage

The weaning of a child from the breast, or of young animals from their dam. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

sevrer

(transitive) To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.

sex appeal

Sexual attractiveness. [from 1910s]