French word

pressentir

Pronunciation

IPA/pʁesɑ̃tiʁ/

Meaning

  • verbfeel

Example

Je pressens que ça va mal se passer.

I feel that things are going to go badly.

Illustration for pressentir (feel)

More examples

Elle pressent un danger.

She senses danger.

Core concept

A quiet inner signal points toward a future event before clear evidence appears.

Common phrases

  • pressentir que

    sense that ___

  • pressentir quelque chose

    sense something

  • pressentir un danger

    sense danger

Similar words

prévoir: To predict a future event using circumstances or available data.
anticiper: To think ahead about likely events and prepare to respond.
soupçonner: To suspect that something is happening despite having little evidence.
deviner: To guess the correct answer or future outcome from limited information or intuition.

Definition in French

Avoir, sans preuve certaine, le sentiment qu'un événement futur va se produire, souvent introduit par « que ».

Word origin

French pressentir comes from Latin praesentire, formed from prae, 'before', and sentire, 'to feel', with the sense of feeling something in advance.

Usage tips

  • Pressentir commonly introduces a clause with que, as in elle pressent que le train sera en retard.

Other meanings

  • intuitverb
  • foreseeverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word