verb

écarter

move apart · move away · eliminate · dispel · dismiss · push aside · move · move aside

Mettre quelque chose ou quelqu’un de côté ou plus loin, pour qu’il ne soit plus au même endroit qu’avant.

The French verb "écarter" means "to spread apart," "to separate," or "to move away." It usually refers to physically moving two or more things apart, creating space between them.

Meanings and usage:

To move aside or push away something or someone.
- Example: Écartez les chaises pour faire de la place. (Move the chairs apart to make room.)
To rule out or exclude an option or possibility.
- Example: On a écarté cette hypothèse. (We ruled out this hypothesis.)
To set something aside or dismiss something.
To spread legs, arms, or objects (like curtains, hands).
- Example: Il a écarté les bras. (He spread his arms.)

Synonyms and differences:

Séparer: Means "to separate" or "to divide," often in a more general or precise way. For example, separating groups or dividing an object into parts.
- Écarter has the nuance of physically moving parts away from each other, often temporarily.
Ouvrir: Means "to open," and can sometimes mean spreading something open, but is not as specific to spacing things apart.
- For example, ouvrir les jambes means "to open/spread the legs," which overlaps with écarter but with less emphasis on physical distancing.
Repousser: Means "to push back" or "to repel," with an emphasis on pushing something further away, often forcefully.
- Écarter is more neutral, meaning just "set apart" rather than pushing back aggressively.

Summary:

"Écarter" primarily means physically moving things apart or separating options, and is less formal than "séparer." It can have literal physical meanings or figurative senses like excluding possibilities. It suggests creating space or distance between things.