Polyglot Dictionary

débrouillard

/de.bʁu.jaʁ/

adjective B2

le (masc.) la (fem.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

Adj Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Neutral

Meaning

  1. resourceful, good at figuring things out and getting by on one's own (informal)

    Built from dé (undo, clear away (prefix)) + brouillard (fog).

Made of

  • dé undo, clear away (prefix)
  • brouillard fog

Similar words

Similar in other languages

Portuguese

desenrascanço

débrouillard is the French word for the same resourceful, always-finds-a-way quality that Portuguese names desenrascanço — both describe someone who gets out of a tight spot with whatever's on hand.

Usage notes

The French version of "always finds a way" — Portuguese has the same idea in its own untranslatable word, desenrascanço.

Practice

1 What does débrouillard mean?

2 Fill the gap: Il est très ___, il trouve toujours une solution.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches débrouillard?

adjectivecompound

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