saignant
rare
Definition & meaning
Saignant is the masculine singular form of the French adjective saignant; the feminine form is saignante.
It has several related meanings:
-
Bleeding or giving off blood
It describes a wound, injury, or body part that is actively bleeding.- une plaie saignante — a bleeding wound
- un doigt saignant — a bleeding finger
-
Rare, in cooking
For meat, especially steak, saignant means cooked quickly so that the inside remains red and juicy.- un steak saignant — a rare steak
In restaurant terminology, it is generally less cooked than à point and more cooked than bleu.
- un steak saignant — a rare steak
-
Figuratively harsh, biting, or brutally realistic
It can describe humor, criticism, satire, or writing that is sharp, severe, or deliberately shocking.- un humour saignant — biting or dark humor
- une satire saignante — a harsh, incisive satire
Grammar & Word origin
Saignant is an adjective and agrees in gender and number:
- masculine singular: saignant
- feminine singular: saignante
- masculine plural: saignants
- feminine plural: saignantes
It comes from the verb — “to bleed.” More precisely, it is historically related to the present participle of , formed with the ending -ant, which often creates present participles and adjectives in French.
The related noun is — “blood.”
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms
Depending on the meaning:
- — bloodstained or covered in blood; stronger than saignant, which can simply mean actively bleeding.
- — literally “that is bleeding”; a more explicit descriptive phrase.
- — undercooked or lightly cooked; broader and less specifically associated with red meat than saignant.
- — incisive or sharp, especially for criticism or writing; more intellectual and less violent in tone than the figurative saignant.
- — biting or cutting, often used for humor or criticism; usually somewhat less brutal than saignant.
Antonyms
The appropriate antonym depends on the context:
- — healed or closed over, for a wound.
- — dry and no longer bleeding, in certain descriptions of wounds.
- — well-done, for meat; the culinary opposite of saignant.
- — gentle or mild, as an opposite to figurative saignant when describing humor or criticism.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
La viande est saignante.adjective
The meat is rare.
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