privilégient

Privilégient is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb privilégier, meaning “they privilege” or “they prioritize.” It appears in sentences where a group is giving priority to a person, option, or approach.

Privilégier means to grant priority to something, to favor one option over others, or to treat something as more important in a given context. The nuance can range from practical prioritization to a subjective preference. For example, ils privilégient les transports publics translates to “they prioritize public transportation.”

Etymology and development: Privilégier is formed from the noun privilège (privilege) with a verb-forming suffix. The noun itself derives from Latin privilegium, related to the concept of a special right or advantage. The sense shift from privilege as a noun to privileging as a verb reflects the idea of granting that privileged status to something.

Usage considerations: The term is neutral in many contexts, describing deliberate prioritization in policy, planning, or everyday decision-making. In some contexts, it can imply favoritism, depending on what is being privileged and why. Like other French verbs, its conjugation follows regular -er verb patterns in most tenses, with subject-verb agreement guiding the form (e.g., je privilégie, tu privilégies, il privilégie, nous privilégions, vous privilégiez, ils privilégient).

See also: privilège, privilégié.