Skip to content

sang-froid

composure, coolness under pressure

noun sahn-FRWAH Rare

Usage Note

Sang-froid is a masculine compound noun meaning literally 'cold blood' and refers to calm self-possession in a crisis. It is hyphenated and invariable in the plural. The expression garder son sang-froid means 'to keep one's cool'.

Examples

"Il a gardé son sang-froid pendant la crise."

Natural Translation

He kept his composure during the crisis.

Literal Translation

He kept his cold blood during the crisis.

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