Skip to content

croupir

to stagnate, to fester

verb kroo-PEER Rare

Usage Note

Croupir literally describes water that has become stagnant and foul-smelling, but it is very commonly used figuratively for a person who wastes away in bad conditions — croupir en prison (to rot in jail). It is a second-group (-ir) verb conjugated like finir.

Examples

"L'eau croupit dans le fossé depuis des jours."

Natural Translation

The water has been stagnating in the ditch for days.

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