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fléchir

to bend, to flex

verb fleh-SHEER Rare

Also means

to yield, to give way

Usage Note

Fléchir covers both physical bending (fléchir le genou = to bend the knee) and figurative yielding under pressure. In grammar class, fléchir is also used for 'to inflect' a word. The noun flexion derives from the same Latin root.

Examples

"Il a fléchi sous la pression de ses parents."

Natural Translation

He gave way under his parents' pressure.

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