le pire
worse · bad
C’est quand quelque chose est moins bon ou plus mauvais qu’autre chose.
Word: pire
Language: French
Meaning
The word "pire" is an adjective and adverb in French, meaning "worse" in English.
- As an adjective/adverb, "pire" is the comparative form of "mal" (badly). It is used to denote something of a more negative or inferior quality or condition compared to something else.
Explanation
-
When comparing two things or situations, "pire" indicates that one is more unfavorable than the other.
- Example:
La situation est pire qu'hier.
(The situation is worse than yesterday.)
- Example:
-
Can be used before nouns as an adjective:
Un pire cauchemar (a worse nightmare)
Word Parts
-
Derived from Latin peior, comparative of malus meaning "bad."
-
Relative to "mal", where:
- mal = bad/badly
- pire = worse
Synonyms
- plus mauvais (more bad) — although "pire" is more common in comparative form
- plus mauvais(e) (more bad, adjective form)
- plus grave (more serious)
Antonyms
- meilleur (better)
- mieux (better, as an adverb)
- moins mauvais (less bad)
Summary
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjective | mauvais(e) (bad) | pire (worse) | le/la pire (the worst) |
| Adverb | mal (badly) | pire (worse) | le plus mal (the worst) |
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Examples
Cette journée est pire que la précédente.adjective
This day is worse than the previous one.
Je pensais que la première option était mauvaise, mais la seconde est encore pire.adjective
I thought the first option was bad, but the second one is even worse.
Le résultat final était pire que ce que nous attendions.adjective
The final result was worse than what we expected.
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