French Conversation · Level 148
30 words
French word
devancer
Pronunciation
IPA/dəvɑ̃se/
Meaning
- verbbeat ___ to it
Example
Il m'a devancé en annonçant la nouvelle.
He beat me to it by announcing the news.
More examples
Il a devancé ses concurrents dès le départ.
He outmaneuvered his competitors from the start.
Core concept
Getting ahead of someone by securing or announcing something before they do.
Common phrases
devancer quelqu'un
outmaneuver someone
devancer la concurrence
outpace the competition
Similar words
dépasser: Moving ahead of someone or surpassing them in amount.
battre: Defeating another in a match or competition.
surpasser: Outdoing others in performance or by an established standard.
anticiper: Foreseeing what is likely and preparing a response beforehand.
Definition in French
Prendre l'avantage sur quelqu'un en obtenant ou annonçant quelque chose avant lui.
Word origin
Devancer combines dé- with avancer, whose Old French form comes from avant and ultimately Latin ab ante, meaning 'from before'.
Usage tips
- Devancer usually takes a direct object, as in devancer quelqu'un, rather than the intransitive pattern common with English 'advance'.