French Conversation · Level 131
45 words
French word
néant
Pronunciation
IPA/neɑ̃/
Meaning
- masculine nounvoid
Example
Après son départ, je me suis senti dans le néant.
After he left, I felt as though I were in a void.
More examples
La crise a réduit ses projets à néant.
The crisis reduced his plans to nothing.
Core concept
A total blank in which no being or reality remains.
Common phrases
réduire à néant
reduce to nothing
Similar words
rien: The complete absence of anything at all.
vide: An empty space or container with no people or objects in it.
absence: The state of being missing from a place where presence is expected.
Definition in French
Absence totale d'être ou de réalité, le « rien » absolu.
Word origin
Néant entered Old French from medieval Latin ne ens, meaning not being, with ens related to esse, to be.
Usage tips
- Néant is masculine and often literary or philosophical; everyday French more often uses rien for no thing and vide for an empty space or state.