assommer

to knock out, stun

verb ah-soh-MEH Less Common

Also means

to bore to death (informal)

Usage Note

Assommer literally means to knock unconscious (assommer quelqu'un d'un coup), but in everyday speech it commonly means to bore someone senseless: ce film m'assomme = 'this film is killing me with boredom'. The related noun assommoir was popularised by Zola's novel of that name.

Examples

"Ce discours interminable nous a assommés."

Natural Translation

That endless speech bored us to death.

Literal Translation

That endless speech knocked us out.

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