entourés

Entourés is the masculine plural past participle of the French verb entourer, meaning to surround or to accompany. Used as an adjective, entouré describes someone or something that is surrounded or accompanied by other people or things. The feminine form is entourée, and the masculine and feminine plural forms are entourés and entourées, respectively. In practice, entouré/entourée functions as a descriptive term and agrees with the noun it modifies.

The noun most closely related to the concept is entourage, which denotes the circle of people who accompany and influence a person, typically a public figure or a person of note. While entourés can occasionally function as a nominalized form, it is more common to refer to “l’entourage” or to specify the group with phrases such as “les personnes entourées” or “les entourés de …”.

Etymology derives from entourer, formed with the prefix en- (in, around) and tour (rounding, a circuit), reflecting the sense of encircling or surrounding. The term appears in Old French and has continued to be used in modern French with both literal and figurative meanings.

Usage and nuance: entouré emphasizes proximity or protection by those nearby, whether family, friends, colleagues, or media. It also conveys a sense of being under the attention or influence of an accompanying group. In political or journalistic contexts, the term entourage is more common to designate the entire supporting circle, while entouré(s) appears in descriptive statements about individuals.

See also: entourer, entourage.