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revenant

ghost

noun ruhv-NAHN Rare

Also means

person returning after a long absence

Usage Note

Revenant is the present participle of revenir (to come back) nominalised; it entered English as a loanword for a returning spirit. In everyday French it can also describe a person who reappears after a long absence, often said with irony: Tiens, un revenant! ('Look who's back!'). The feminine is revenante.

Examples

"On dit que le château est hanté par un revenant."

Natural Translation

They say the castle is haunted by a ghost.

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