French word

frôler

Pronunciation

IPA/fʁole/

Meaning

  • verbgraze

Example

Le ballon a frôlé sa tête.

The ball grazed his head.

Illustration for frôler (graze)

More examples

L'équipe a frôlé la victoire.

The team came close to victory.

Core concept

A moving path skims an edge, making slight contact or coming just short of crossing it.

Common phrases

  • frôler la mort

    come close to death

  • frôler la catastrophe

    come close to disaster

  • frôler la victoire

    come close to victory

Similar words

manquer de: Be just about to carry out an action without doing it.
faillir: Come close to an event occurring without the event taking place.
échapper: Escape danger or an unwanted consequence.

Definition in French

Effleurer légèrement une surface ou signifier qu'un danger ou un événement a été évité de justesse.

Word origin

Frôler is inherited from Old French froler, a verb for grazing or rubbing lightly.

Usage tips

  • Frôler takes a direct object, as in frôler un mur or frôler l'accident, without a preposition such as à.

Other meanings

  • brush againstverb
  • narrowly escapeverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word