renfermer

Renfermer is a French verb meaning to contain or enclose something within another object or space. It can also mean to harbor, to imply, or to include as part of a whole. The verb is transitive, and can be used literally as in physical enclosure, or figuratively as in texts, statements, or objects that include hidden features, flaws, or meanings. In addition, the reflexive form se renfermer describes a social or psychological retreat, meaning to close oneself off or withdraw.

In its literal sense, renfermer can take a direct object and a location, for example: renfermer qqch dans qqch (to enclose something in something). In a figurative sense, one speaks of un texte qui renferme des idées complexes (a text that contains complex ideas) or une montre qui renferme un mécanisme délicat (a watch that houses a delicate mechanism). The expression se renfermer sur soi-même is common to describe withdrawal into one’s own thoughts or emotions.

Conjugation is regular for an -er verb in the present tense: je renferme, tu renfermes, il renferme, nous renfermons, vous renfermez, ils renferment. Past participle: renfermé (renfermée/renfermés/renfermées as appropriate). Imperfect: renfermais, renfermais, renfermions, etc. The reflexive form is: je me renferme, tu te renfermes, il se renferme, nous nous renfermons, vous vous renfermez, ils se renferment.

Translations often include contain, enclose, comprise, or harbor, depending on context. Related terms include enfermer (to lock up) and the adjective renfermé (closed, secluded). See also se renfermer.

Renfermer is a standard, neutral term used across literary, bureaucratic, and everyday discourse to denote enclosure, inclusion, or withdrawal.