guérissent

Guérissent is the spelling used for both the indicative present and the present subjunctive forms of the French verb guérir. It is the third-person plural form: ils guérissent in the indicative, and qu'ils guérissent in the present subjunctive. In English, the form translates as they heal, they cure, or they recover, depending on the context and construction.

Usage of guérir centers on the idea of recovery from illness or injury. In medical or practical contexts, it is used transitively with a direct object to denote curing a disease or healing a wound (guérir une maladie, guérir une blessure). It can also express recovery from a condition with the preposition de (guérir de quelque chose), meaning to get over or recover from that condition. In many everyday contexts, guérir is paired with nouns representing health or ailment, while more idiomatic expressions for personal recovery may use se remettre de rather than guérir de.

Grammatical notes: guérissent, as a form, is identical in spelling for the indicative and the subjunctive in the third person plural, which means the mood is determined by surrounding verbs and context. In modern French, the indicative use is common after statements of fact, while the subjunctive appears in dependent clauses expressing doubt, possibility, necessity, or emotion (for example: il faut qu'ils guérissent, je doute qu'ils guérissent).

See also: guérir, guérison, soins, médecine.