bavure

smear

noun ba-VOOR Rare

Also means

blunder (police misconduct)

Usage Note

Bavure literally means a smudge or ink blot (from baver, 'to drool/smear'). Its most prominent modern use is in the phrase bavure policière ('police blunder' or 'police misconduct'), describing an illegal or excessive use of force. This usage is standard in French journalism and political debate. The verb baver also gives bave ('drool') and the colloquial en baver ('to have a hard time of it').

Examples

"La bavure policière a choqué l'opinion publique."

Natural Translation

The police blunder shocked public opinion.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Le, La, Un, Du: French Articles Made Simple

Le, la, un, du, des made simple: pick the French article family by meaning, the form by gender, and dodge the two mistakes English speakers always make.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Aller + Infinitive: The Easy French Future

Form the French near future in seconds: conjugate aller in the present and add an infinitive. Learn futur proche rules, negation, pronouns, and when to use it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read