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• manque
  manque

  noun

  the numbers 1 to 18 in roulette.
• manqué
  manqué

  adjective

  having failed, missed, or fallen short, especially because of circumstances or a defect of character; unsuccessful; unfulfilled or frustrated (usually used postpositively).

manque

¹ American  

[mahnk] / mɑ̃k /

noun

French.

1. the numbers 1 to 18 in roulette.

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manqué ² American  

[mahng-key, mahn-key] / mɑŋˈkeɪ, mɑ̃ˈkeɪ /

adjective

1. having failed, missed, or fallen short, especially because of circumstances or a defect of character; unsuccessful; unfulfilled or frustrated (usually used postpositively).

   a poet manqué who never produced a single book of verse.

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manqué British  

/ ˈmɒŋkeɪ, mɑ̃ke /

adjective

1. (postpositive) unfulfilled; potential; would-be

   the manager is an actor manqué

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Etymology

Origin of manque¹

Literally, “lack”

Origin of manqué²

1770–80; < French, past participle of manquer to lack, be short of < Italian mancare, derivative of manco lacking, defective < Medieval Latin, Late Latin mancus ( Latin: feeble, literally, maimed, having a useless hand, probably derivative of manus hand)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manque manqué

An artist manque, she maintains that her particular skill is to recognize and nurture talent.

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022

It was a manque version of the hypertheatricality that elevated the band out of scene notoriety to pop ubiquity.

From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2022

Philip – a Roth manque – is waiting for the release of his second novel, which is bound to be well received.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 4, 2015

A poet manque as well as a sometime black marketeer, he has the manners of a thug and the soul of a romantic.

From Time Magazine Archive

If manque gained, he won three louis and lost two; if a number in the last twelve came up, he won four and lost three; but a continuation of zeros would have ruined his calculation.

From The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852 by Various

And yet compelling as the theory of Mourinho as a player manqué is, and that as a result he feels the need to master them at all times, this is not a straightforward case.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2017

A drawback of crime and spy novels, for this reader, is that they turn you into a tough-guy manqué.

From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2017

Or, she was an architect manqué, whose construction oddities like the “staircase to nowhere” were simply the result of a lack of formal training.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2017

It’s the inflated babble of a guru manqué, absolutely.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 24, 2015

He arrived at Doncaster about two in the morning, and the yeomanry commanded by Mr Wortley met by order to escort him into the town at nine the next morning, so that was manqué.

From The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope — Volume 1 by Stirling, A. M. W.