French Conversation · Level 74
60 words
French word
désert
Pronunciation
IPA/dezɛʁ/
Meaning
- masculine noundesert
Example
Le désert est chaud et sec.
The desert is hot and dry.
More examples
Les dunes du désert bougent sous l'effet du vent.
The dunes of the desert move in the wind.
Core concept
A vast, sun-baked expanse where bare ground stretches around only scattered signs of life.
Common phrases
un désert aride
an arid desert
les dunes du désert
the dunes of the desert
Similar words
oasis: A small green place in a desert with water and trees.
dune: A small hill formed from sand carried and piled up by the wind.
plaine: A broad, flat stretch of land covered with grass or fields.
Definition in French
Terre aride et peu habitée, caractérisée par l'absence de végétation dense et la prédominance de sable ou de rochers.
Word origin
French désert comes through Old French from Latin desertum, meaning an abandoned or forsaken place, whose sense developed toward an uninhabited barren region.
Usage tips
- Désert is masculine, as in un désert and le désert, and its final t is silent.
Other meanings
- wildernessnoun
Opposites
- forêtforestnoun
Related words
- désertiquedesert-likeadjective
- désertédesertedadjective