le collé
stick · glue
Definition & meaning
Collé is the masculine singular past participle of coller , and it is also commonly used as an adjective.
-
Stuck, glued, or attached
- Le papier est collé au mur. — “The paper is stuck to the wall.”
- Une étiquette collée sur une boîte — “A label stuck onto a box.”
-
Very close or pressed against someone or something
- Il est collé à son téléphone. — “He is glued to his phone.”
- Les enfants étaient collés les uns aux autres. — “The children were pressed close together.”
-
In education: having failed an examination or being kept back
- Il a été collé à l’examen. — “He failed the exam.”
- In this sense, it can also mean that someone has been unable to answer a question or has been “stumped,” especially in an oral examination.
The feminine form is collée , and the plural forms are collés and collées .
Grammar & Word origin
Collé is formed from the verb coller , meaning “to glue,” “to stick,” or “to attach.” It comes from the noun colle , “glue,” which ultimately derives from Latin colla, “glue.”
As a past participle, it is used with être in the passive voice:
- La feuille est collée. — “The sheet is glued.”
With avoir , it agrees with a preceding direct object in certain grammatical contexts:
- Les photos que j’ai collées. — “The photos that I glued.”
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms
- adhérent — “adhering” or “sticking”; more technical and less everyday than collé.
- fixé — “fixed” or “attached”; emphasizes that something is secured in place, not necessarily with glue.
- attaché — “attached”; broader than collé, since it can refer to things connected by ties, fasteners, or other means.
- contre — “against” or “pressed against”; describes physical position rather than the use of adhesive.
In the educational sense:
- recalé — “failed” or “not passed”; more general and often more formal.
- stupéfait — “stumped” or “astonished”; this does not specifically imply failing an examination.
Antonyms
- décollé — “unstuck,” “detached,” or “peeled off”; the most direct antonym when something is no longer glued.
- détaché — “detached” or “separate”; broader than décollé.
- séparé — “separated”; describes the result of no longer being together.
- admis — “passed” or “accepted”; an antonym of collé in the examination sense.
Common phrases & collocations
- être collé à quelqu’un — “to be stuck to someone” or “to stay extremely close to someone.”
- être collé à son écran — “to be glued to one’s screen.”
- être collé au mur — “to be stuck or pressed against the wall.”
- une feuille collée — “a glued-on sheet.”
- être collé à un examen — “to fail an examination.”
- être collé par une question — “to be stumped by a question.”
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Examples
Le papier est collé sur le mur.adjective
The paper is stuck on the wall.
Hier, j'ai collé une étiquette sur la boîte.noun
Yesterday, I glued a label onto the box.
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