imprégner

From Latin impraegnāre.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pʁe.ɲe/

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imprégner

1. (dated; transitive) to impregnate

   Synonyms: féconder, inséminer

2. (transitive) to imbue
3. (reflexive) to soak up
   • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:

     Si on s’en allait tout là-haut pour mieux s’imprégner des couleurs, saurions-nous faire taire notre égo ?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

This verb is conjugated like céder. It is a regular -er verb, except that its last stem vowel alternates between /e/ (written 'é') and /ɛ/ (written 'è'), with the latter being used before mute 'e'. One special case is the future stem, used in the future and the conditional. Before 1990, the future stem of such verbs was written imprégner-, reflecting the historic pronunciation /e/. In 1990, the French Academy recommended that it be written imprègner-, reflecting the now common pronunciation /ɛ/, thereby making this distinction consistent throughout the conjugation (and also matching in this regard the conjugations of verbs like lever and jeter). Both spellings are in use today, and both are therefore given here.

• “imprégner”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.