French Conversation · Level 119
60 words
French word
corvéable
Pronunciation
IPA/kɔʁveabl/
Meaning
- adjectiveeasy to put to work
Example
À la maison, elle est corvéable quand il y a beaucoup de rangement.
At home, she is easy to put to work when there is a lot of tidying up.
More examples
Après la réunion, on le considère souvent corvéable pour distribuer les documents.
After the meeting, he is often regarded as someone who can be put to work distributing the documents.
Core concept
A person or thing kept available for every unpleasant, low-status task.
Similar words
obligé: Compelled to do something unwillingly.
utilisé: Put to use for another person's convenience.
exploité: Taken advantage of through unfair demands for work.
soumis: Easily made to comply with orders or requests.
Definition in French
Décrit quelqu'un ou quelque chose susceptible d'être affecté à des corvées ou à des tâches ingrates.
Word origin
The adjective is formed from French corvée with the suffix -able, which expresses susceptibility to being assigned such work.
Usage tips
- Corvéable often sounds critical, especially in corvéable à merci, which describes someone exploited without limit.