French Conversation · Level 75
60 words
French word
priver
Pronunciation
IPA/pʁive/
Meaning
- verbdeprive
Example
Ne me privez pas de dessert.
Don't deprive me of dessert.
More examples
La panne a privé le village d'électricité.
The outage deprived the village of electricity.
Core concept
A barrier comes between a person and a benefit, whether imposed by others or accepted voluntarily.
Common phrases
priver quelqu'un de
deprive someone of
se priver de
deprive oneself of
Similar words
voler: Steal another person's belongings for personal possession.
enlever: Remove a person or object from its location or reach.
exclure: Prevent someone from joining a group or taking part in an opportunity.
retirer: Remove an object from a particular place or condition.
Definition in French
ôter à quelqu'un l'accès ou l'usage d'une chose, souvent exprimé par la structure priver quelqu'un de quelque chose; se priver de = renoncer volontairement.
Word origin
The Latin verb privare passed into French as priver with the idea of removing access, while se priver developed the related meaning of deliberately doing without.
Usage tips
- Priver takes a direct person object and de before the thing affected, as in priver les élèves de leur sortie.