French word

médire

Pronunciation

IPA/mediʁ/

Meaning

  • verbbadmouth

Example

Elle aime médire de ses collègues.

She likes to badmouth her colleagues.

Illustration for médire (badmouth)

More examples

Les amis ne devraient pas médire de quelqu'un en son absence.

Friends should not badmouth someone in their absence.

Core concept

A side conversation where a person's faults become the subject of shared talk while the person is away.

Common phrases

  • médire de quelqu'un

    badmouth someone

  • médire ouvertement

    badmouth openly

Similar words

dire du mal de: Say negative things about someone.
critiquer: Point out faults or problems in an action or work.
insulter: Address someone with abusive or offensive words.
calomnier: Spread false claims that damage someone's reputation.

Definition in French

Parler en mal de quelqu'un, surtout quand la personne n'est pas présente, en partageant critiques ou ragots.

Word origin

French médire descends from Latin maledicere, formed from malus, meaning 'bad', and dicere, meaning 'to say', through Old French mesdire.

Usage tips

  • Médire takes de before the person targeted, so the construction is médire de quelqu'un rather than a direct-object construction.

Other meanings

  • slanderverb

Opposites

Related words

  • médisanceslandernoun
  • médisantslanderousadjective

Word lists with this word