à rebours

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French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a ʁ(ə).buʁ/
  • Audio:(file)

Adverb

à rebours

  1. backwards, the wrong way; against the grain

Derived terms

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French à rebours.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.rɛˈbur/
  • Rhymes: -ur
  • Syllabification:

Adjective

à rebours (not comparable, no derived adverb)

  1. (literary, postpositive) backward (in the direction reverse of normal)
    Synonym: odwrotny
    Krytycy pisali, że opowieść Wylera to historia Kopciuszka, tyle że à rebours.The critics have written that Wyler's tale is a Cinderella story but with the roles reversed.

Adverb

à rebours (not comparable)

  1. (literary, postpositive) against the grain, backwards, the wrong way (in the opposite way to what is usually done)
    Synonyms: na odwrót, na opak, na wspak, odwrotnie
    Nasz projekt to zabawa koncepcją pawilonu narodowego. Bierzemy z Polski sztandarowe budynki, ale pokazujemy je à rebours.Our project is a play on the concept of the national pavilion. We take flagship buildings from Poland but present them against the grain.

Further reading

  • à rebours I in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • à rebours II in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • à rebours in Polish dictionaries at PWN