malgré
French, preposition/mal.ɡʁe/
malgré is spelled M-A-L-G-R-É (6 letters) and appears 148 times per million words in written French, the 553rd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Malgré is a French preposition meaning “despite, in spite of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Contre le vouloir de quelqu’un, contre le gré de”.
What does malgré mean in English?
preposition
- 1
despite, in spite of
- 2
against (one's) will, despite (one's) protest
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
preposition: 1. Contre le vouloir de quelqu’un, contre le gré de. 2. En dépit d’un objet faisant obstacle ou contrariant l’action. 3. En dépit d’une considération abstraite susceptible d’en modifier l’appréciation.
noun: 1. Mauvais consentement, peine à admettre.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of malgré
- mal gré
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce malgré?
- /mal.ɡʁe/
- \mal.ɡʁe\
- [mal̪.ɡʁe]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to malgré
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is malgré in French?
malgré appears 148 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).