narrow

étroit

Dont les côtés sont peu éloignés l’un de l’autre.

En anglais simple : Having little space between its sides.

• The road is narrow.
• We walked through the narrow streets.
• This doorway is too narrow for the sofa.

Synonymes : thin

Contraires : wide, broad

Expressions courantes : narrow road, narrow gap, narrow street

limité, restreint

Qui couvre peu de sujets, d’activités ou de possibilités.

En anglais simple : Covering only a small range of subjects, activities, or possibilities.

• He has a narrow range of interests.
• The study had a very narrow focus.
• Her knowledge is deep but narrow.

Synonymes : limited, restricted

Contraires : broad, wide

Expressions courantes : narrow range, narrow focus, narrow interests

serré, de justesse

Avec très peu de différence entre la réussite et l’échec, ou entre deux quantités.

En anglais simple : Involving only a small difference between success and failure, or between two amounts.

• We had a narrow escape.
• The team celebrated a narrow victory.
• She won the election by a narrow margin.

Synonymes : slight, small

Expressions courantes : narrow escape, narrow victory, narrow margin

restrictif, strict

Qui laisse très peu de liberté dans la façon de comprendre ou de faire quelque chose.

En anglais simple : Allowing very little freedom in how something is understood or done.

• The judge used a narrow interpretation.
• Such a narrow definition excludes many families.
• A narrow reading of the rules left no room for exceptions.

Synonymes : restrictive, strict

Contraires : liberal, flexible

Expressions courantes : narrow interpretation, narrow definition, narrow reading

réduire, restreindre

Réduire le domaine ou l’étendue de quelque chose.

En anglais simple : To make the range or area of something smaller.

• We need to narrow our search.
• She narrowed her choices to two courses.
• Can you narrow down the possible causes?

Comment l'utiliser : narrow something down to something (We narrowed the list down to three names.)

Synonymes : limit, restrict, reduce

Contraires : broaden, expand

Expressions courantes : narrow the search, narrow the options, narrow something down

se rétrécir, rétrécir

Devenir moins large ou rendre quelque chose moins large.

En anglais simple : To become less wide, or make something less wide.

• The road narrows here.
• They narrowed the entrance to keep cars out.
• The river gradually narrows as you travel upstream.

Synonymes : contract

Contraires : widen

Expressions courantes : narrow the gap, narrow the opening, narrow a road

plisser les yeux

Fermer partiellement les yeux, souvent par colère, méfiance ou pour regarder attentivement.

En anglais simple : To partly close your eyes, often because you are angry, suspicious, or looking carefully.

• He narrowed his eyes.
• She narrowed her eyes at my explanation.
• His eyes narrowed when he noticed the missing money.

Comment l'utiliser : narrow one's eyes at someone/something (She narrowed her eyes at the stranger.)

Synonymes : squint

Expressions courantes : narrow your eyes, narrow one's eyes

détroit

Passage d’eau étroit entre des parties plus larges d’un fleuve, d’un lac ou de la mer.

En anglais simple : A thin passage of water between wider areas of a river, lake, or sea.

• The boat entered a narrow between two islands.
• Strong currents flow through the narrows.
• Ships waited outside the narrows until the tide changed.

Synonymes : strait, channel

Expressions courantes : a rocky narrow, a tidal narrow