French word

pressé

Pronunciation

IPA/pʁese/

Meaning

  • adjectivein a hurry

Example

Je suis pressé.

I am in a hurry.

Illustration for pressé (in a hurry)

More examples

Il est trop pressé pour parler.

He is in too much of a hurry to talk.

Core concept

A person squeezed by a lack of time and forced to hurry.

Common phrases

  • être pressé

    be in a hurry

  • avoir l'air pressé

    look in a hurry

  • pressé de partir

    be eager to leave

Similar words

occupé: Busy with numerous tasks and unable to give time or attention freely.
urgent: Needing to be dealt with immediately due to a pressing situation.
impatient: Wanting something to happen soon and unwilling to wait for it.

Definition in French

Qui ressent une urgence et se dépêche parce qu'il manque de temps.

Word origin

Pressé comes from the past participle of French presser, a verb descended from Latin premere, meaning 'to press'.

Usage tips

  • With a person, pressé de plus an infinitive can mean eager or impatient to do something, while être pressé usually means being short of time.

Other meanings

  • urgentadjective
  • squeezedadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word