Skip to content

sévir

act harshly

verb seh-VEER Rare
People & Society Government

Origin: Latin saevire (to be fierce)

Also means

rage (of disease/crime)

Usage Note

sévir is used in two main ways: authorities sévissent contre wrongdoers (crack down on), and plagues or problems sévissent somewhere (rage, wreak havoc). La grippe sévit en hiver (flu rages in winter) is a typical use. The related adjective sévère (severe, strict) shares the same Latin root.

Examples

"La police a décidé de sévir contre le trafic."

Natural Translation

The police decided to crack down on the trafficking.

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