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frôler

graze, brush against

verb froh-LEH Rare
Body & Health Movement

Also means

come close to, narrowly avoid

Usage Note

Frôler implies a very light, barely-there contact — frôler quelqu'un is to brush past someone. Figuratively, frôler la mort means 'to come close to death' and frôler la catastrophe means 'to narrowly avoid disaster' — both are very common in journalistic French. The noun frôlement (m) means a light brush or touch.

Examples

"La balle a frôlé son oreille sans le toucher."

Natural Translation

The bullet grazed his ear without hitting him.

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