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Definition 2024


méconnaître

méconnaître

See also: méconnaitre

French

Alternative forms

Verb

méconnaître

  1. to not recognize or be unaware of
    Le médecin a méconnu la nature de cette maladie.
    The doctor did not recognize the nature of this sickness.
  2. (by extension) To ignore someone by pretending not to know them.
    Il est devenu si orgueilleux qu’il méconnaît ses parents, ses amis.
    He has become so arrogant that he ignores his parents, his friends.
  3. (figuratively) Fail to treat someone in the way they deserve; not appreciate a quality, something they merit.
    Cet homme de génie a été méconnu de ses contemporains.
    This man of genius was ignored by his contemporaries.

Conjugation

This verb is one of a fairly small group of -re verbs, that are all conjugated the same way. They are unlike other verb groups in that the ‘i’ is given a circumflex before a ‘t’.

Derived terms