devoir

1) Noun — “duty”, “obligation”

Meaning (English):
Devoir refers to a moral, social, legal, or personal duty—something one is expected or bound to do.

• le devoir = duty, obligation
• Examples of sense: le devoir moral (moral duty), le devoir envers quelqu’un (duty toward someone)

Parts / structure:
From the verb devoir (“to have to / must”). The noun is built on the idea of “what one must do.”

French synonyms (noun):

• obligation
• responsabilité
• charge (in some contexts)
• engagement (commitment, depending on context)

French antonyms (noun):

• droit (a right, often opposed to duty)
• liberté (freedom, in some contexts)

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2) Noun — “homework”, “assignment”

Meaning (English):
In school contexts, un devoir means a homework assignment or a piece of schoolwork (often written work, an essay, an exercise, a test task).

• faire ses devoirs = to do one’s homework
• un devoir de maths = a math assignment
• un devoir sur table = an in-class written test/assignment

French synonyms (school sense):

• travail (à faire)
• exercice (often for specific tasks)
• composition (more formal/older usage for an essay)

French antonyms:
No fixed antonym in this school sense.

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3) Verb — “to have to”, “must”, “to owe”

Meaning (English):
As a verb, devoir commonly means:

• to have to / must (necessity, obligation): Je dois partir = I have to leave.
• to owe (money or something due): Je te dois 10 euros = I owe you 10 euros.
• By extension, to be supposed to / should (expectation): Il doit être arrivé can also mean “He should have arrived / He must have arrived” depending on context.

French synonyms (verb):

• For obligation: falloir (impersonal: il faut)
• For owing: être redevable de (more formal)
• For expectation/likelihood (context-dependent): être censé (supposed to)

French antonyms (verb):

• For obligation: pouvoir (to be able to / may) can oppose “must” in some contexts
• For owing: recevoir (to receive) is not a strict antonym, but contrasts with “to owe” in transactional contexts

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Note on form

• Masculine noun: un devoir, le devoir
• Verb: devoir is irregular (e.g., je dois, nous devons, ils doivent).