à quoi bon

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French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a kwa bɔ̃/
  • (file)

Interjection

à quoi bon ?

  1. (informal) what good is it? what's the good of? what's the point?
    • 2022 February 14, “Saint Valentin : La métaphore magique de notre ouverture”, in Le Soleil:
      A quoi bon se retenir si on a envie de se désopiler, de crier son amour, de le sublimer par le verbe et par le geste, cet instant-là où tout paraît beau où toutes les « interférences » idéologiques et religieuses se noient dans les flots de sentiments passionnels et profonds.
      What good is it to hold back if you want to get out of your own way, shout out your love, sublimate it in words and deeds: that moment when everything seems beautiful, where all ideological and religious "interference" drowns in the waves of deep, passionate feeling.

Usage notes

Can be used as is, or with an infinitive.

Derived terms