French–English dictionary

drague

An instance of approaching someone and engaging in romantic flirtation and courting with the intent to pursue romance, a date, or a sexual encounter.

draguer

(transitive, idiomatic) To talk to (someone) in a friendly, open, or casual manner, sometimes also in a charming or affected manner, usually to curry favor, and sometimes flirtatiously with the intention of establishing a romantic or sexual encounter or relationship with that person.

dragueur

Someone who engages in casual sex – usually frequently.

drain

A channel crossing under a road or railway for the draining of water.

drainage

A natural or artificial means for the removal of fluids from a given area by its draining away.

dramatique

Of or relating to the drama.

dramatiser

(transitive) To present something in a dramatic or melodramatic manner.

dramaturge

(rare, theater) Someone who writes or adapts theater plays, a playwright, dramatist, especially one connected with a specific theater or company.

dramaturgie

(theater) The art of dramatic composition for the stage.

drame

(countable) A cause of misery or ruin.

drap de billard

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

drap mortuaire

A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse.

drapeau

(computer science) A variable or memory location that stores a Boolean true-or-false, yes-or-no value, typically either recording the fact that a certain event has occurred or requesting that a certain optional action take place.

drapeau rouge

(literally) A flag that is red, especially associated with leftist revolutionary ideologies.

draper

(transitive) To cover or adorn with drapery or folds of cloth, or as with drapery.

drastique

Having a strong or far-reaching effect; extreme, severe.

drawback

A partial refund of an import fee, as when goods are re-exported from the country that collected the fee.

dread

A single strand of dreadlocks.

dreadlocks

A hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in which the hair is left to grow long, and twisted into matted strings.

dreadnought

(informal) Any type of warship heavier in armour or armament than a typical battleship.

drêche

A byproduct from a grain distillery, often fed to pigs or cattle as part of their ration; often synonymous with brewer's spent grain, sometimes differentiated from it; usually differentiated from potale, at least in technical use, although broad, nontechnical use has often lumped all such byproducts together, especially in the past.

drège

(textiles) An implement, with teeth like those of a comb, for removing the seeds and seed vessels from flax, broom corn, etc.

Dresde

The capital city of Saxony, Germany, on the River Elbe. [1735]

dresdois

(history, metonymically) The Bombing of Dresden.

dressé

Upright; vertical or reaching broadly upwards.

dresseur

One who tames or subdues.

dresseuse

One who tames or subdues.

dreydel

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.

dribble

(countable, sports) The act of moving (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it.

dribbler

(basketball, soccer) In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.

drigaille

(derogatory, slang) A reprehensible person or persons.

drill

An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.

dringuelle

A gratuity; a small amount of money left for a bartender, waiter, taxi driver or other servant as a token of appreciation. [from mid-18th c.]

drogue

(uncountable, slang) Any of various recreational substances:

droit

Something that one is entitled to.

droit d'aînesse

The principle that the eldest child, traditionally the eldest male, has an exclusive right of inheritance.

droit d'auteur

(uncountable) The right by law to be the entity which determines who may publish, copy and distribute a piece of writing, music, picture or other work of authorship.

droit de douane

(archaic, uncountable) Toll, tax, or tribute.

droit de rétention

(legal) A right to take possession of a debtor’s property as security until a debt or duty is discharged.

droit de visite

(legal) The right of a separated or divorced parent to visit a child; access.

droit de vote

The right to vote at a public election or referendum; see: suffrage.

droite

(geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.

droitier

Using one's right hand in preference to, or more skillfully than, one's left.

droits de l'homme

(international law) The set of basic rights and freedoms that all humans should be guaranteed, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

droits de la personne

(international law) The set of basic rights and freedoms that all humans should be guaranteed, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

droits humains

(international law) The set of basic rights and freedoms that all humans should be guaranteed, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

droiture

(now, _, rare) The fact or quality of being right or correct; correctness of opinion or judgement. [from 15th c.]

drôle

Funny, hilarious.

drôlement

(degree, UK, Irish, Commonwealth, slang) Very (as a general-purpose intensifier).

dromadaire

The single-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius).

drome

(literary) Forms placenames related to racetracks (now especially large covered racetracks) or similar structures.

drone

An aircraft operated by remote control, especially an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

dronte

A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.

dronte de la Réunion

Ellipsis of Réunion solitaire (Raphus solitarius, now Threskiornis solitarius), an extinct bird formerly believed to be related to the dodo.

druide

(historical) One of an order of priests among certain groups of Celts before the adoption of Abrahamic religions.

drummer

(musician) One who plays the drums.

drummeur

(musician) One who plays the drums.

drummeuse

(musician) One who plays the drums.

du

(figuratively, often used attributively) The genre of cinema; film.

du coup

(conjunctive) Consequently; thus; therefore; hence.

du dessous

Under, lower.

du jour au lendemain

(figurative) In a very short (but unspecified) amount of time.

du marché

A relatively spacious outdoor or covered site where traders set up stalls, either temporarily or permanently or semi-permanently, and buyers browse the merchandise.

du matin

(used after the hour) In the 12-hour period from midnight to noon (the first half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.

du même âge

Of the same age or era; contemporary.

du moment que

(idiomatic) Provided that, if, assuming (depending upon some condition or requirement).

du passé

(grammar, of a tense) Showing an action at a determined moment in the past.

du reste

In addition to.

du soir

(used after the hour) In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.

du tout

To even the slightest extent, at all.

dual

Characterized by having two (usually equivalent) components.

dub

(music, uncountable) A trend in music starting in 2009, in which bass distortion is synced off timing to electronic dance music.

dubitatif

(of a statement, matter, or thing) Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.

Dublin

(metonym) The government of the Republic of Ireland.

Dubois

(countable) A surname from French.

Dubrovnik

A city and port in southern Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea; formerly, Ragusa.

duc-d'Albe

(nautical) A man-made semi submerged maritime structure, usually installed to provide a fixed structure for temporary mooring, to prevent ships from drifting to shallow water or to serve as base for navigational aids.

ducal

Of or pertaining to a duke, a duchess, or the duchy or dukedom they hold.

duce

(historical) The title which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini assumed during his rule (1922—1945).

duché

A dominion or region ruled by a duke or duchess.

ductile

Capable of being pulled or stretched into thin wire by mechanical force without breaking.

ductilité

(materials science) Ability of a material to be drawn out longitudinally to a reduced section without fracture under the action of a tensile force.

duègne

A female chaperone who accompanies a man, and is usually not married to him.

duel

(obsolete) A hostile encounter or meeting.

duffel

A kind of coarse woolen cloth, having a thick nap or frieze.

dulçaquicole

Living in fresh water.

dulcicole

Living in fresh water.

Dumas

A surname from French.

dûment

Regularly; at the proper time.

Dumoulin

(countable) An English and Scottish surname originating as an occupation for a miller.

dumping

(economics, trading) Selling goods at less than their normal price, or even at a loss, especially in the export market as a means of securing a monopoly.

Dundee

A city in Scotland.

dune

(geomorphology) A ridge or hill of sand piled up by currents of wind or water.

Dunkerque

A town in Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.

duo

(musician group) Two musicians who perform music together.

duodécimal

(arithmetic) Of a number, expressed in base twelve.

dupe

A low-pitched hum or buzz.

duper

(transitive) To deceive or delude (using guile).

duperie

(informal) A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

duplex

an apartment often on two floors

duplicata

One that resembles or corresponds to another; an identical copy.

duplication de processus

(metonymic, analogous to any prong of a pronged tool) One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided; a prong; a branch of a stream, a road, etc.; a barbed point, as of an arrow.

duplicité

Intentional deceptiveness; double-dealing.

dupliqué

Being the same as another; identical, often having been copied from an original.

dupliquée

Being the same as another; identical, often having been copied from an original.

dupliquer

(transitive) To make a copy of.

duquel

(relative) Of whom, belonging to whom.

dur

Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.

dur comme de la pierre

(archaic) Extremely strong; impenetrable; resolute.

dur comme un roc

(obsolete) Physically hardened, toughened.

dur de comprenure

The property of being abstruse; abstrusity. [First attested in the mid 17th century.]

durabilité

The ability to last a long time by virtue of the power to resist stress or force.

durable

Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring.

durant

For all of a given time interval; throughout; in; pending.

duratif

(linguistics) Of or pertaining to the aspect of a verb that expresses continuing action; continuative. Part of the imperfective aspect, as opposed to the perfective aspect, of verbs.

Durban

A city and seaport in KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa.

durcir

(intransitive) To become hard.

durcissement

An act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health after a disease, or to soundness after injury.

dure

(of water) High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.

durée

An amount of time or a particular time interval.

durée de vie

(biology) The length of time for which an organism lives.

durement

(manner) With much force or effort.

durer

(intransitive) To endure, continue over time.

dureté

The quality of being hard.

durian

The spiky edible fruit of this tree, known for its strong taste and very strong, unpleasant odor.

duvet

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

duveteux

Having down, covered with a soft fuzzy coating as of small feathers or hair.

Dyle

River in Belgium, flowing through Leuven and Mechelen

dynamique

(physics) The branch of mechanics that is concerned with the effects of forces on the motion of objects.

dynamiquement

Of a dynamic nature; variable or constantly changing nature.

dynamisme

A mechanism used to power or give motion to a vehicle or other machine or machine part.

dynamite

A class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting.

dynamiter

To blow up with dynamite or other high explosive.

dynamo

(electromagnetism) An electricity generator; a dynamo-electric machine.

Dynastie Han

An imperial Chinese dynasty, ruling (with interruptions) from 206 BC to AD 220, marked by the expansion of the Yellow River's Huaxia culture to the recent conquests of the Qin and a flowering of economic, literary, and scientific development

Dynastie Qing

Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the last imperial dynasty of China.

dysenterie

(pathology) A disease characterised by inflammation of the intestines, especially the colon (large intestine), accompanied by pus (white blood cells) in the feces, fever, pain in the abdomen, high-volume diarrhea, and possible blood in the feces.

dysfonction

(mostly, medical) A failure to function in an expected or complete manner. Usually refers to a disorder in a bodily organ (e.g. erectile dysfunction), a mental disorder, or the improper behavior of a social group.

dysfonctionnel

Functioning incorrectly or abnormally; especially, designating of a business, family or social group with harmful, aberrant, strange or abnormal behavior.

dysfonctionnement

(mostly, medical) A failure to function in an expected or complete manner. Usually refers to a disorder in a bodily organ (e.g. erectile dysfunction), a mental disorder, or the improper behavior of a social group.

dysharmonie

The absence of harmony or concordance.

dysharmonique

lacking harmony.

dyslexie

(neurology, pathology) A learning disability characterized by reading and writing difficulties.

dyslexique

Of or pertaining to dyslexia.

dysphémisme

(uncountable) The use of a word or phrase carrying negative connotations or imagery (especially one that is derogatory, offensive or vulgar) to replace a (more) neutral original.

dysphorie

A state of feeling unwell or unhappy; a feeling of emotional and mental discomfort and suffering from restlessness, malaise, depression, or anxiety.

dyspnée

(pathology) Difficult or laboured breathing.

dystopie

A miserable, dysfunctional state or society that has a very poor standard of living or severe censorship, oppression, etc.

dystopique

Of or pertaining to a dystopia.

dystopiste

Of or pertaining to a dystopia.