What does caresses in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word caresses in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use caresses in French.

The word caresses in French means stroke, skim, ruffle, nurture, caress, stroke, caress, stroke the wrong way, rub up the wrong way, rub up the right way, butter up to. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word caresses

stroke

verbe transitif (câliner) (humans, animals)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Suzanne caressait le chat sur ses genoux.
Suzanne was stroking the cat on her lap.

skim

verbe transitif (effleurer) (figurative)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
La pianiste jouait tout en subtilité, caressant à peine les touches du piano.
The pianist was with a very light hand, barely skimming the piano keys.

ruffle

verbe transitif (être agréablement ressenti)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
La brise marine caressait ses cheveux.
The sea breeze ruffled her hair.

nurture

verbe transitif (envisager, rêver) (figurative: hopes, dreams)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Victor caressait le rêve de voir les mers du Sud.
Victor was nurturing the dream of seeing the South Seas.

caress

nom féminin (attouchement affectueux)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les caresses de son amoureux la troublaient.
Her lover's caresses aroused her.

stroke

nom féminin (geste affectueux) (humans, animals)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le maître fit une caresse machinale à son chien. Mon chat n'aime pas trop les caresses.
The master gives his dog a stroke.

caress

nom féminin (sensation douce) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La caresse du vent apaisait le couple assis dans l'herbe.
The wind's caress soothed the couple sitting in the grass.

stroke the wrong way

verbe transitif (un animal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Arrête de caresser le chien à rebrousse-poil ; tu sais qu'il n'aime pas ça !

rub up the wrong way

verbe transitif (figuré (contre la nature [qqn]) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
En le caressant à rebrousse-poil, il fallait s'attendre à ce qu'il se révolte.

rub up the right way, butter up to

locution verbale (figuré, familier (dire ce que l'autre veut entendre)

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of caresses in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.