FluentPlex

cerner

/sɛʁ.ne/ verb B2
  1. to surround (transitive) · Les gendarmes cernèrent la maison où il s’était réfugié. The policemen surrounded the house in which he had been hiding.· Il avait les yeux cernés de noir. He had dark circles around his eyes.
  2. to figure out; to distinguish, identify the boundaries of (figuratively, transitive) · La discussion a aidé à cerner le problème. The discussion helped to clarify the nature and scope of the problem.
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Verb forms

Infinitive
cerner
Present participle
cernant
Past participle
cerné
Present (je)
cerne
Future (je)
cernerai
Passé composé (je)
ai cerné

From the library

Dantès regarda le visage livide de Faria, ses yeux cernés d'un cercle bleuâtre, ses lèvres blanches, ses cheveux hérissés ; et, d'épouvante, il laissa tomber à terre le ciseau qu'il tenait à la main.
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, p. 182 · C1
Alors, traqué sur l'eau, cerné sur la terre, que deviendrai-je ?
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, p. 231 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and forms from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.