mot juste
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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
And as Barnum ended nearly a century of trying to edit that sense of wonder into the mot juste, he finally nailed it at the end.
From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2019
She is a fluid writer but not the sort to go in search of le mot juste.
From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2018
“And if they don’t want to feel rich, then they’re probably—” He pauses to consider the mot juste, then adds, “Dead.”
From The New Yorker • Jul. 13, 2018
"And then there's this psychology and introspection business; and construction and good narrative and word pictures and le mot juste and verbal magic and striking metaphors."
From Mortal Coils by Huxley, Aldous
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
