fortement

Fortement is a French adverb meaning strongly, heavily, or greatly. It is used to indicate a high degree of intensity and can modify verbs, adjectives, or past participles, contributing to a formal or emphatic tone in speech or writing.

Etymology and usage. Fortement is formed from the adjective fort (strong) with the adverbial suffix -ement. In everyday speech, the adverb fort can serve to express intensity or loudness, as in parler fort. Fortement, however, tends to appear in more formal or written language or when a precise degree of intensity is being stressed, as in fortement recommandé or fortement probable.

Examples and nuance. The word can modify a wide range of expressions: Le vent soufflait fortement; Le plan est fortement contesté. It is common in technical, academic, or formal contexts to calibrate the degree of certainty or impact: fortement probable, fortement soutenu, fortement endommagé. In stylistic terms, fortement often conveys a stronger or more measured emphasis than fort, which remains more common in casual speech.

Translations. In English, fortement is typically rendered as strongly, greatly, heavily, or intensely, depending on context. Common collocations include fortement recommandé (strongly recommended), fortement probable (strongly probable), and fortement influencé (strongly influenced).

See also. Fort (adjective), the suffix -ment, and the general formation of adverbs in French.