Pressentir (en. To sense)

/pʁɛsɑ̃tiʁ/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Pressentir means to perceive a feeling or intuition before it materializes.

She sensed an imminent danger.

Elle pressentait un danger imminent.

To worry about something that might happen.

He sensed that the situation was going to deteriorate.

Il pressentait que la situation allait se détériorer.

To have a premonition, an indefinite sensation regarding a future event.

He always sensed his success even before starting.

Il a toujours pressenti sa réussite avant même de commencer.

From the prefix 'pre-' meaning 'before' and 'sentir' meaning 'to perceive.'

to have a premonition

to have an intuition or a strong feeling about an upcoming event.

avoir un pressentiment

to sense danger

to feel a threat before it manifests.

pressentir le danger

to sense something bad

to anticipate a bad outcome by intuition.

pressentir quelque chose de mauvais

sentir

to perceive through the senses or intuition.

sentir

prémonition

sensation of a future event, often negative in nature.

prémonition

intuition

ability to understand or know something without explicit reasoning.

intuition

To have a bad premonition.

When I saw the storm, I had a bad premonition.

Quand j'ai vu la tempête, j'ai eu un mauvais pressentiment.

To know without knowing.

It's strange, but I sense it, without being able to explain why.

C'est bizarre, mais je le pressens, sans pouvoir expliquer pourquoi.