French word

pressentiment

Pronunciation

IPA/pʁesɑ̃timɑ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounfeeling

Example

J'ai un pressentiment que ça va mal se passer.

I have a feeling that things are going to go badly.

Illustration for pressentiment (feeling)

More examples

Son pressentiment l'a empêché de partir.

His premonition kept him from leaving.

Core concept

A faint signal from within that something is approaching, colored by unease rather than clear knowledge.

Common phrases

  • avoir un pressentiment

    have a premonition

  • avoir un mauvais pressentiment

    have a bad premonition

Similar words

intuition: An instinctive feeling or understanding of something.
inquiétude: A general feeling of worry that makes it hard to feel calm.

Definition in French

Impression vague et anticipée qu'un événement va se produire, souvent ressentie comme un mauvais signe.

Word origin

The noun pressentiment derives from the French verb pressentir, 'to sense beforehand', with the productive suffix -ment forming an abstract noun.

Usage tips

  • A common pattern is avoir le pressentiment que followed by a finite clause, or avoir le pressentiment de followed by a noun.

Other meanings

  • forebodingnoun
  • premonitionnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • pressentirhave a premonitionverb
  • pressentianticipatedadjective

Word lists with this word