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devancer

to get ahead of

verb duh-vahn-SEH Rare
Mind & Emotions Attitudes

Origin: From de- + avant (before) + -cer

Also means

to overtake

Usage Note

Devancer means to arrive before someone else or to get a step ahead, whether literally (overtaking in a race) or figuratively (anticipating a problem). It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes ç before a or o (e.g. je devançais). Compare dépasser (to surpass, pass).

Examples

"Elle a devancé tous ses concurrents."

Natural Translation

She got ahead of all her competitors.

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