degager

Dégager is a French verb that covers a broad range of meanings related to releasing, freeing, clearing, emitting, or deducing. It can describe the action of freeing someone or something from constraint, removing obstacles to create space, or extracting something from a mixture or situation. It also can mean to emit or give off substances or energy, and, in a figurative sense, to yield or produce results such as profits or conclusions.

Common senses include:

- To free or clear: dégager la route (clear the road), dégager quelqu’un d’une charge (relieve someone of a burden), or se dégager d’un obstacle (to free oneself from an obstacle).

- To emit or emanate: la cheminée dégage de la fumée, ce bois dégage une chaleur.

- To yield or generate: l’activité dégage des bénéfices; le projet dégage des retours financiers.

- To deduce or infer: dégager une conclusion à partir de données.

- To detach or disengage, in mechanical or interpersonal contexts.

Grammatical notes:

Dégager is a regular -ER verb. In present tense: je dégage, tu dégages, il dégage, nous dégageons, vous dégagez, ils dégagent. The nous form uses -eons to preserve the soft g. The passé composé is formed with avoir: j’ai dégagé; imperfect: je dégageais; subjunctive: que je dégage, que nous dégageons. There is also a pronominal form: se dégager, used when the subject becomes free or when something opens up, as in “Une sortie se dégage.”

Dégagement is the related noun indicating release, clear space, or opening. A non-accented form degager is commonly seen in informal writing, but the correct orthography of the verb includes the acute é: dégager.