French word

sourciller

Pronunciation

IPA/suʁsije/

Meaning

  • verbraise an eyebrow

Example

Elle sourcille quand il raconte ça.

She raises an eyebrow when he tells it.

Illustration for sourciller (raise an eyebrow)

More examples

Il est parti sans sourciller.

He left without batting an eye.

Core concept

A brief lift of one or both eyebrows that signals mild surprise or doubt.

Common phrases

  • sans sourciller

    without batting an eye

  • sourciller de surprise

    raise an eyebrow in surprise

Similar words

hausser: Move a body part, such as the eyebrows or shoulders, slightly upward.
froncer: Draw the eyebrows together, creating wrinkles between the eyes.
cligner: Quickly close and reopen the eyelids in a blink.
s'étonner: Feel surprised or puzzled by something.

Definition in French

Exprime le fait de hausser brièvement un ou les deux sourcils pour marquer une légère surprise ou un doute.

Word origin

Sourciller is formed from the French noun sourcil, meaning "eyebrow," with the verb-forming suffix -er; sourcil comes through Old French from Latin supercilium.

Usage tips

  • Sourciller is intransitive and takes avoir in compound tenses, as in elle a sourcillé.

Related words

Word lists with this word