pire
French, noun/piʁ/
pire is spelled P-I-R-E (4 letters) and appears 126 times per million words in written French, the 657th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Pire is a French masculine noun meaning “the worst” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a comparative degree of mauvais: worse. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “S’emploie aussi comme superlatif, et alors il est toujours précédé de l’article”.
What does pire mean in English?
adjective
- 1
comparative degree of mauvais: worse
- 2
superlative degree of mauvais: worst
- 3
colloquialproscribedbad; harmful, serious
C'est moins pire de se casser la gueule que de se la péter.
noun
- 1
masculinethe worst
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Comparatif de mauvais. Plus mauvais, plus défectueux, plus nuisible.
adverb: 1. Comparatif de mal.
noun: 1. S’emploie aussi comme superlatif, et alors il est toujours précédé de l’article. 2. Il s’emploie aussi comme nom masculin et désigne ce qui est de plus mauvais.
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 pire
- pires plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce pire?
- /piʁ/
- \piʁ\
- [piʁ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to pire
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is pire in French?
pire appears 126 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).