Skip to content

bouleversé

overwhelmed, devastated

adjective boo-leh-vehr-SEH Rare
Mind & Emotions Emotions

Also means

deeply upset

Usage Note

bouleversé is the past participle of bouleverser (to turn upside down, to devastate), used as a strong emotional adjective. It implies a more profound disturbance than simply triste (sad) — closer to 'shaken to the core'. The feminine form is bouleversée.

Examples

"Elle était bouleversée par la nouvelle."

Natural Translation

She was devastated by the news.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

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

Explore French by topic