What does faillir in French mean?

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

The word faillir in French means almost did , nearly did, fail to keep , not hold to, fail in, fail to live up to your reputation, not live up to your reputation, fail to fulfil your obligations. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word faillir

almost did , nearly did

verbe transitif (avoir manqué de faire)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
J'ai failli avoir un accident en venant ce matin au bureau. // Quand sa fille lui a annoncé son déménagement, Gérard a failli tomber de sa chaise.
When his daughter told him she was moving out, Gerry all but fell off his chair.

fail to keep , not hold to

verbe transitif indirect (littéraire (ne pas tenir : une promesse, un engagement)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le jeune homme a failli à sa promesse de mariage.
The young man failed to keep his promise of marriage.

fail in

verbe transitif indirect (littéraire (manquer à : un devoir)

Ce soldat a failli à son devoir.
The soldier failed in his duty.

fail to live up to your reputation, not live up to your reputation

locution verbale (se montrer indigne de sa réputation)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

fail to fulfil your obligations

locution verbale (manquer à ses devoirs) (UK)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

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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.