Lawless French | A
Abaisser
Meaning: to lower, to bring down, to humble
Think of “baisser” (to lower) — abaisser is like a stronger or more formal version, often used in writing or formal speech.
Main Meanings and Uses
1.To lower / reduce something physically
Abaisser le rideau — to lower the curtain
Abaisser la tête — to lower one’s head
2.To reduce / bring down (level, temperature, pride, etc.)
Abaisser le ton — to lower your tone (voice) Abaisser la température du four — to lower the oven temperature
3. Figurative: to humble, to demean
Il ne faut pas s’abaisser à mentir. — One should not stoop to lying.
Elle s’est abaissée devant lui. — She humbled herself before him.
Reflexive form: s’abaisser
This means to humble oneself or to lower oneself (figuratively).
Il s’abaisse pour plaire aux autres. — He lowers himself to please others.
Abandonner
Meaning: to abandon, to give up, to leave behind
Think of the English “abandon” — it’s almost identical in meaning and use!
But abandonner can also mean “to give up doing something,” not just “leave behind.”
Main Meanings and Common Uses
1.To leave / desert someone or something
Il a abandonné sa famille. — He abandoned his family.
Le navire a été abandonné en mer. — The ship was abandoned at sea.
2.To give up / quit / stop doing something
Elle a abandonné ses études. — She gave up her studies.
Ne l’abandonne pas maintenant ! — Don’t give up on him now!
3.To leave a place
Le village a été abandonné. — The village was abandoned.
4.Reflexive form: s’abandonner→ to give oneself up / to let go
Elle s’abandonne à la joie. — She gives herself up to joy.
Il s’abandonne au désespoir. — He gives in to despair.
Abattre
Meaning: to knock down, to bring down,to kill, to cut down. slaughter.
“abattre un arbre” → to cut down
“abattre un ennemi” → to bring down / kill
“être abattu(e)” → to feel emotionally down
Main Meanings and Common Uses
1.To knock down / bring down (physically)
Le vent a abattu un arbre. — The wind knocked down a tree.
Ils ont abattu le mur. — They tore down the wall.
2.To shoot / kill (a person or animal)
Le chasseur a abattu un cerf. — The hunter shot a deer.
Le criminel a été abattu par la police. — The criminal was shot by the police.
3.To bring down emotionally (figurative)
Cette nouvelle l’a abattu. — That news broke him / made him feel down.
4.To slaughter (livestock)
On abat les bœufs à l’abattoir. — Cattle are slaughtered at the slaughterhouse.
abattu(e)(s)
L’arbre abattu — the felled tree
Il est complètement abattu. — He is completely downhearted / exhausted.
Abîmer
Meaning: to damage, to spoil, to ruin, to mess up
Think of abîmer = to make something less perfect (physically or morally).
It’s used for objects, relationships, reputation, appearance, etc.
Main Meanings and Common Uses
1.To damage / spoil / ruin something physically
La pluie a abîmé les fleurs. — The rain damaged the flowers.
Ne laisse pas ton téléphone au soleil, tu vas l’abîmer. — Don’t leave your phone in the sun; you’ll damage it.
2.To ruin / spoil (figurative or emotional)
Cette dispute a abîmé leur amitié. — That argument damaged their friendship.
Il a abîmé sa réputation. — He ruined his reputation.
3.To wear out / deteriorate
Les chaussures s’abîment vite. — The shoes wear out quickly.
Reflexive form: s’abîmer
Used when the subject is itself damaged or deteriorates over time.
La peau s’abîme au soleil. — Skin gets damaged in the sun.
Les cheveux s’abîment avec le sel de mer. — Hair gets damaged by sea salt.
Abolir
Meaning: to abolish, to put an end to, usually used for laws, systems, practices.
If you know “abolish” in English → it’s almost the same, and it always refers to ending something officially, legally, or completely.
Common Uses
To abolish a law, rule, or practice
Le gouvernement a aboli la loi.
— The government abolished the law.
To end a system or tradition
Ils veulent abolir la peine de mort.
— They want to abolish the death penalty.
To suppress, remove, make disappear
(formal/literary)
Il faut abolir toutes les formes d’injustice.
— We must abolish all forms of injustice.
Past participle: aboli
La loi a été abolie. — The law was abolished.
Abonder
Meaning: to abound, to be plentiful
-(with dans) to agree fully
Think of English “abundant” — same root.
abonder = to be abundant
abonder dans l’idée de quelqu’un =
to “go along with / fully support” someone’s idea
Main Meanings & Common Uses
To abound / be plentiful / exist in large quantities
Used for objects, resources, ideas, feelings, etc.
Les preuves abondent.
— Evidence is plentiful.
Dans cette forêt, les champignons abondent.
— In this forest, mushrooms abound.
Abonder dans l’idée de quelqu’un = to fully agree with someone (Abonder dans…)
A formal phrase.
J’abonde dans ton sens.
— I fully agree with you.
Elle abonde dans l’idée de son collègue.
— She agrees with her colleague’s idea.
S’abonder
(rare, literary)
Means “to increase greatly” or “to multiply,” but not used in modern everyday French.
Abonner
Meaning: to subscribe someone to something.
In practice, it’s almost always used in the reflexive form: s’abonner = to subscribe (oneself)
Abonner without se means to subscribe someone else.
Always think s’abonner + à + [something]
(preposition à is required)
Common Meanings & Uses
To subscribe to a service / channel / platform
Je m’abonne à une chaîne YouTube.
— I subscribe to a YouTube channel.
Elle s’est abonnée à un magazine.
— She subscribed to a magazine.
Ils s’abonnent à Netflix.
— They subscribe to Netflix.
To sign up for a membership
Nous nous sommes abonnés à la salle de sport.
— We subscribed to the gym.
Without reflexive form: abonner quelqu’un
= to subscribe someone
Less common.
J’ai abonné ma mère à ce journal.
— I subscribed my mother to this newspaper.
Related nouns
un abonnement = a subscription
être abonné(e) = to be subscribed
Je suis abonné(e). — I’m subscribed.
Aborder
meanings:
to approach (a person, a place, a topic)
to tackle / address (a subject or problem)
to land (ship) — more formal
to come up to someone (to talk)
Important prepositions
aborder quelqu’un = to approach someone
aborder quelque chose = to tackle / address something (no preposition needed!)
Main Meanings & Examples
To approach / come up to someone
Il m’a abordé dans la rue.
— He approached me on the street.
N’aborde pas les inconnus trop vite.
— Don’t approach strangers too quickly.
To tackle / deal with / address (a subject)
Very common in school, essays, exams.
Le professeur a abordé un nouveau chapitre.
— The teacher addressed a new chapter.
Nous allons aborder ce problème ensemble.
— We will tackle this problem together.
L’histoire aborde des thèmes importants.
— The story deals with important themes.
To start discussing a topic
Je voudrais aborder la question du budget.
— I’d like to bring up the issue of the budget.
To reach / make landfall (ships, coast)
— more formal/literary
Les marins ont abordé la côte.
— The sailors reached the shore.
Aboutir
meanings: “to get to the end” “to lead to something”
to succeed / to lead to a result
to end up / to come to an end
to lead to (a place or an outcome)
IMPORTANT preposition
aboutir à (always à)
aboutir à un lieu
aboutir à un résultat
aboutir à une conclusion
Never “aboutir de”.
To succeed / to reach a result (often with à)
→ aboutir à + noun
Nos efforts ont abouti à un succès.
— Our efforts resulted in success.
La négociation n’a pas abouti.
— The negotiation did not succeed.
Cette recherche aboutit à une conclusion importante.
— This research leads to an important conclusion.
To end up / to finally reach something
Tout finit par aboutir.
— Everything eventually works out.
To lead to (a place) → Usually for roads,
passages, paths
Ce chemin aboutit à la rivière.
— This path leads to the river.
La rue aboutit sur la place centrale.
— The street leads to the central square.
Aboyer
Meaning: to bark (like a dog)
Common Uses
Dogs barking
Le chien aboie toute la nuit.
— The dog barks all night.
Ils ont un petit chien qui aboie beaucoup.
— They have a small dog that barks a lot.
Figurative (people shouting aggressively)
Il ne parle pas, il aboie.
— He doesn’t speak, he barks
(meaning: speaks harshly).
Expression: “aboyer après quelqu’un”
Meaning: to shout at someone / to snap at someone
Il aboie après tout le monde.
— He barks at everyone (he scolds everyone).
Past participle: aboyé
Le chien a aboyé. — The dog barked.
Abréger
Meaning: to shorten, to abbreviate, to make shorter (text, speech, time, duration).
Think: abréger = to make briefer
(“abrégé” in French also means a summary.)
Common Uses
To shorten / cut down text, speech, explanation
Peux-tu abréger ton discours ?
— Can you shorten your speech?
Le professeur a abrégé la leçon.
— The teacher shortened the lesson.
To abbreviate (linguistic use)
“Information” s’abrège en “info”.
— “Information” is abbreviated as “info.”
On abrège souvent “Madame” en “Mme”.
— “Madame” is often abbreviated as “Mme.”
To reduce / make shorter (time, suffering, process)
Cette décision abrégera l’attente.
— This decision will shorten the wait.
Rien ne peut abréger sa souffrance.
— Nothing can shorten his suffering.
Past participle: abrégé
Un texte abrégé — a shortened text
J’ai abrégé mon exposé. — I shortened my presentation.
Abriter
Meaning:
to shelter, to protect
to house, to host
to provide cover for
abri = “shelter”
So abriter literally means “to give shelter.”
Main Meanings & Uses
To shelter / protect someone or something
Cet arbre abrite les oiseaux.
— This tree shelters the birds.
Le parapluie m’abrite de la pluie.
— The umbrella shelters me from the rain.
Les grottes abritaient nos ancêtres.
— Caves sheltered our ancestors.
To house / contain / host
Often used for buildings, institutions, museums, structures.
Le musée abrite une collection rare.
— The museum houses a rare collection.
Cette ville abrite plus de 50 000 habitants.
— This city is home to over 50,000 inhabitants.
Reflexive form: s’abriter = to take shelter
Nous nous sommes abrités sous un toit.
— We took shelter under a roof.
Les enfants se sont abrités du vent.
— The children sheltered from the wind.
Common prepositions
abriter quelqu’un / quelque chose
(no preposition)s’abriter de / contre
s’abriter de la pluie — to shelter from the rain
s’abriter contre le vent — to shelter against the wind
Abrutir
Meaning:
to make someone stupid / numb / dull
to stupefy, to overwhelm mentally
(reflexive) to become numb / dazed / exhausted
Think of “brute” → “abrutir” = to make someone more brute-like, less thoughtful, more numb.
Main Uses
To mentally dull / make stupid
Used for activities, substances, routines that destroy critical thinking.
Ce travail répétitif abrutit les employés.
— This repetitive work numbs the employees.
La télévision de mauvaise qualité abrutit les gens.
— Low-quality TV makes people stupid.
To overwhelm or exhaust mentally
Le bruit constant m’abrutit.
— The constant noise overwhelms me.
Reflexive form: s’abrutir
Meaning: to get mentally numb, dazed, exhausted; to “zone out.”
Il s’abrutit devant son écran.
— He numbs himself staring at his screen.
Je me suis abruti à force d’étudier sans pause.
— I got mentally exhausted by studying nonstop.
Past participle: abruti(e)(s)
Un élève abruti — a dazed/dulled student
Ils sont abrutis par la fatigue. — They are numb from fatigue.
Absoudre
Meaning: to absolve, to forgive (formally), especially in religious or legal contexts.
-Used mostly in passé composé and fixed expressions.
-The present tense is almost never used in modern French except in very formal contexts.
Think of English “absolve” → almost the same meaning.
But in French, absoudre is used mostly in religion or law, not everyday life.
Most important part: the past tense
Past participle: absous(m.) / absoute(f.)
This is the form you will see the most.
Il a été absous de ses péchés.
— He was absolved of his sins.
La religieuse absoute
— The absolved nun.
Main Uses
Religious: to absolve someone of sin
Le prêtre l’a absous.
— The priest absolved him.
Judicial / figurative: to clear someone of blame
Le tribunal l’a absous de toutes les charges.
— The court absolved him of all charges.
Expression: “Je t’absous.” Very formal / religious.
Related verb (much more common): absolution
donner l’absolution → to forgive formally
recevoir l’absolution → to be forgive
Abstenir
Meaning: to abstain, to refrain from, to not participate.
It is always reflexive → s’abstenir.
Passé composé : Use être because it’s reflexive:
Je me suis abstenu(e) = I abstained
Ils se sont abstenus = They abstained
Main Uses
To not take part (politics / voting)
30 % des électeurs se sont abstenus.
— 30% of voters abstained.
To refrain from doing something
Construction: s’abstenir de + infinitif
Abstenez-vous de fumer ici.
— Please refrain from smoking here.
Je m’abstiens de commenter.
— I refrain from commenting.
Formal / polite refusal
Je vais m’abstenir.
— I will refrain / I’ll pass (polite).
Accélérer
Meaning: to accelerate, to speed up, to make something go faster.
accélérer + COD
accélérer le mouvement
accélérer le rythme
accélérer la production
Or accélérer à (informal, “to go faster”):
Accélère un peu !
Main Uses
To go faster (movement, vehicles, speed)
La voiture accélère.
— The car is speeding up.
Il faut accélérer, on est en retard.
— We need to hurry, we’re late.
To increase the pace of something
Ils accélèrent le projet.
— They are speeding up the project.
Le gouvernement accélère les réformes.
— The government is accelerating the reforms.
To intensify / increase
La pluie accélère la fonte de la neige.
— The rain accelerates the melting of the snow.
Accentuer
Meaning:
to accentuate, to emphasize, to stress
to make something stronger or more noticeable
Grammar patterns
accentuer + nom → very common
accentuer le fait que… → emphasize that…
Main Uses
To emphasize / stress something (speech, writing)
Il accentue les mots importants.
— He stresses the important words.
Ce passage accentue l’émotion.
— This passage emphasizes the emotion.
To increase / make worse / intensify
La chaleur accentue la fatigue.
— Heat increases the feeling of fatigue.
Sa réaction accentue le problème.
— His reaction makes the problem worse.
To highlight a feature (visual, artistic)
Le maquillage accentue ses yeux.
— Makeup accentuates her eyes.
La lumière accentue les ombres.
— Light accentuates the shadows.
Accepter
Meaning:
to accept, to agree to,
to consent to receive / to tolerate
Grammar patterns
accepter + COD
accepter de + infinitif (to agree to do something)
accepter que + subjonctif
J’accepte qu’il parte. — I accept that he leaves.
Main Uses
To agree to do something
J’accepte votre invitation.
— I accept your invitation.
Elle accepte de venir.
— She agrees to come.
Construction: accepter de + infinitif
To accept a situation / tolerate
Il accepte la réalité.
— He accepts the reality.
J’ai du mal à accepter sa décision.
— I have trouble accepting his decision.
To approve / validate
Le comité a accepté le projet.
— The committee approved the project.
To receive / take (formal)
Acceptez ce cadeau.
— Please accept this gift.
Acclamer
Meaning:
to acclaim, to cheer, to applaud loudly
to praise enthusiastically
Grammar patterns
acclamer + COD
acclamer un héros
acclamer une décision
être acclamé(e) (passive) — very common in writing
Main Uses
To cheer someone (crowds, events, ceremonies)
La foule acclame le champion.
— The crowd cheers the champion.
Ils ont été acclamés à leur arrivée.
— They were acclaimed when they arrived.
To applaud or celebrate enthusiastically
Le public acclame l’artiste.
— The audience applauds the artist loudly.
Figurative: to praise, celebrate
Le film a été acclamé par la critique.
— The film was acclaimed by critics.
Accomplir
Meaning:
to accomplish, to carry out, to achieve
to fulfill (a task, duty, mission)
Grammar patterns
accomplir + COD
accomplir un devoir
accomplir une tâche
accomplir quelque chose de + adjectif
accomplir quelque chose de remarquable
Main Uses
To complete / achieve something important
Elle a accompli sa mission.
— She accomplished her mission.
Il a accompli un exploit.
— He achieved a feat.
To carry out a task or action
Accomplir une tâche.
— To carry out a task.
Accomplir un travail difficile.
— To accomplish difficult work.
To fulfill (formal use)
Accomplir son devoir.
— To fulfill one’s duty.
Accomplir une promesse.
— To fulfill a promise.
Accorder
Meaning:
to grant / to give (permission, importance, attention)
to agree / to match
to tune (an instrument)
to conjugate/agree grammatically (grammar sense: “l’accord”)
Grammar patterns
accorder + COD
accorder quelque chose à quelqu’un
accorder une faveur à quelqu’unaccorder de + nom abstrait
accorder de la confiance, de l’aide, du temps
Main Uses
To grant / give something (permission, attention, etc.)
Le professeur m’a accordé plus de temps.
— The teacher gave me more time.
Je vous accorde un entretien.
— I grant you an interview.
Accorder de l’importance à quelque chose.
— To give importance to something.
To tune (music)
Accorder un piano / une guitare.
— To tune a piano / guitar.
To agree / match (two things that correspond)
Accorder ses mots et ses actions.
— To make one’s words match one’s actions.
Accorder les couleurs.
— To match colors.
GRAMMAR: to agree adjectives, verbs, participles
Il faut accorder l’adjectif avec le nom.
— You must make the adjective agree with the noun.
Le participe passé doit être accordé.
— The past participle must be agreed.
Accoster
Main meanings:
to approach someone and speak to them (often sudden, unexpected, or unwanted)
to bring a ship/boat alongside a dock → to berth / to land
When referring to people, accoster can sound formal or negative.
When referring to boats, it’s neutral and standard.
Main Uses
To approach someone and speak to them (often unexpectedly) Usually implies surprise or unwanted contact.
Un inconnu l’a accostée dans la rue.
— A stranger approached her in the street.
Il m’a accosté pour demander de l’argent.
— He came up to me to ask for money.
To bring a boat alongside a dock (nautical)
Le bateau accoste le quai.
— The boat docks at the pier.
Nous avons accosté à Marseille.
— We docked in Marseille.
Accoter
Meaning:
to support, to prop up, to lean something against something
(Reflexive s’accoter) to lean on/against something
Accoter is not used metaphorically.
More frequent synonyms: appuyer, adosser, s’appuyer, s’adosser.
Main Uses
To support or prop something against something
Ils ont accoté l’échelle contre le mur.
— They leaned the ladder against the wall.
Accoter une planche contre une table.
— To prop a plank against a table.
S’accoter = to lean on / to rest against
This is the more common form.
Il s’accote à l’arbre.
— He leans against the tree.
Elle s’est accotée au mur pour se reposer.
— She leaned against the wall to rest.
Accoucher
Meaning:
to give birth (the mother gives birth)
to deliver (a baby) (the doctor/midwife helps)
figurative: to produce something after effort (a project, idea)
Synonyms
donner naissance = to give birth
mettre au monde = to bring into the world
accoucheur / accoucheuse = obstetrician / midwife
Main Uses
To give birth (the mother)
Elle a accouché hier.
— She gave birth yesterday.
Elle va accoucher bientôt.
— She is going to give birth soon.
Common constructions:
accoucher de + bébé (souvent “d’un garçon/d’une fille”)
Elle a accouché d’un garçon.accoucher à + lieu
Elle a accouché à l’hôpital.
To deliver a baby (midwife, doctor)
La sage-femme a accouché la patiente.
— The midwife delivered the patient’s baby.
(Transitive use — less common but correct.)
Figurative: to produce something after effort
Il a accouché d’un roman après 5 ans de travail.
— He produced a novel after 5 years of work.
Le gouvernement a enfin accouché d’une réforme.
— The government finally produced a reform.
Accourir
Meaning:
to run up to, to rush toward, to hurry over (toward someone/something)
often translates as “to come running”
Accourir implies speed + urgency.
It always suggests movement toward a place/person.
Main Uses
To rush toward someone
Les enfants ont accouru vers leur mère.
— The children rushed toward their mother.
Il a accouru quand il a entendu son cri.
— He came running when he heard her scream.
To arrive quickly to help
Les voisins ont accouru pour aider.
— The neighbors rushed over to help.
To come running because something is happening
Les clients accourent quand il y a une promotion.
— Customers rush in when there’s a sale.
Accrocher
Meaning:
to hang, to hook (something onto something)
to catch / snag (physically or figuratively)
to captivate / engage someone (informal, figurative)
Grammar notes
accrocher + COD → accrocher quelque chose
Reflexive: s’accrocher → to cling, to hang on
Il s’accroche à la rampe. — He clings to the handrail.
Main Uses
To hang / hook something
J’accroche le manteau au porte-manteau.
— I hang the coat on the coat rack.
Accrocher un tableau au mur.
— To hang a painting on the wall.
To catch / snag (literal or figurative)
Le crochet a accroché ma chemise.
— The hook caught my shirt.
Il s’est accroché à la branche.
— He clung to the branch.
Figurative: to captivate / hook someone
Cette histoire m’accroche dès le début.
— This story hooks me from the start.
Le film accroche le spectateur.
— The film captivates the audience.