🇫🇷French Source WordCode: FR

plier les yeux

Pronunciation / Transliteration: plie lez zyeux

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Squint/skwɪnt/
verbnounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #7500 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇫🇷 Example Sentence in French:

"Il a dû plier les yeux à cause du soleil."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb
  1. 1

    To look at something with eyes partly closed in order to see better or prevent bright light from hurting the eyes.

    "She had to squint to read the road sign in the glaring afternoon sun."
As noun
  1. 1

    A rapid or sideways glance; a look.

    "He took a quick squint at the paper on the desk."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Originating in the late Middle English period, 'squint' likely stems from an imitative or expressive root, possibly related to Old Norse or Middle Dutch words describing obliqueness or looking sideways. Over centuries, it evolved from describing a visual sideways glance or a medical eye condition (strabismus) to its modern primary meaning of narrowing the eyes to see more clearly against bright light.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Squint"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Squint"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Squint" Synonym Map