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mouvant

shifting, moving

adjective moo-VAHN Rare

Usage Note

Mouvant describes something that constantly changes position or form; the fixed phrase sables mouvants (quicksand) is its most common appearance in everyday French. The feminine form is mouvante. It is more literary than the near-synonym mobile and implies a sense of instability rather than simple motion.

Examples

"Le sol était mouvant sous leurs pieds."

Natural Translation

The ground was shifting beneath their feet.

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