Usage Note
Désoler is almost always used reflexively or in the past-participle form désolé, which functions as the standard apology 'sorry.' Je suis désolé(e) is a genuine, moderately formal apology — stronger than pardon but less formal than je vous présente mes excuses. The verb itself literally means to desolate or deeply upset someone.
Examples
"Je suis vraiment désolé pour hier."
Natural Translation
I am really sorry about yesterday.

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
6 min read