appliquer

to apply

verb ah-plee-KEH Less Common

Also means

to enforce, implement

Usage Note

Appliquer covers applying a substance (appliquer de la crème), applying a rule, and the reflexive s'appliquer meaning either to apply oneself (work hard) or to apply to/be relevant to something — a very productive verb worth knowing in all three uses.

Examples

"Il faut appliquer la loi sans exception."

Natural Translation

The law must be applied without exception.

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