mot juste
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gainsbourg is bilingual, but French is her first language; she pauses occasionally in our conversation to search around for le mot juste.
From The Guardian • Oct. 26, 2019
Two years later, “thirst” remains with us as the mot juste for these and other people, moments and things — and the evidence of that thirst has only grown more undeniable.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2017
In January, when PhD students jostle for jobs at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, a “market” might seem the mot juste.
From Economist • Nov. 24, 2016
They all try to describe James’s distinctive manner of speaking, which was an extremely deliberate, pause-filled, somewhat stammering effort to grasp le mot juste.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 21, 2016
It occurred to me that "hungry" was perhaps the mot juste for him; but—hungry for what?
From Enoch Soames: a memory of the eighteen-nineties by Beerbohm, Max, Sir