defaire

Defaire is a French verb most commonly written with the accent as défaire, meaning to undo, to unmake, or to dismantle something that has been done or put together. It can describe physical actions—unmaking a bed, untie a knot, unpacking a bag—as well as the reversal of arrangements, plans, or acts. In everyday use, it often conveys restoring a previous state or canceling a result of a prior action. The spelling defaire without an accent is generally considered incorrect in standard French, though it may appear in proper nouns or as a misspelling.

Etymology and scope: défaire comes from de- plus faire, with the sense of undoing what has been done. The prefix de- signals reversal or negation, while faire is “to do.” Over time, the verb has extended from concrete, tactile undoing to more abstract reversals of commitments, agreements, or plans; for example, défaire un accord can mean to cancel or void an agreement.

Usage notes: The verb is transitive and commonly paired with objects that can be physically undone or figuratively reversed. Examples include défaire le lit (to unmake the bed), défaire un nœud (to untie a knot), or défaire des emballages (to unwrap). Figuratively, one might défaire une promesse, défaire une stratégie, or défaire une illusion, though nuances vary by context. The related verb refaire means “to make again” or “to redo,” and is used when a new creation is intended.

Conjugation (present, brief): je défais, tu défais, il défait, nous défaisons, vous défaites, ils défaisent. The past participle is défait, used with auxiliary avoir (j’ai défait). Other tenses follow standard -faire paradigm variants, including défaisais in imperfect and défairai in future.