Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Superior or overpowering force.
- n. An unexpected or uncontrollable event.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Superior force.
Wiktionary
- n. an overwhelming force
- n. law an unavoidable catastrophe, especially one that prevents someone from fulfilling a legal obligation
WordNet 3.0
- n. a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events
Etymologies
- From French force majeure (greater force) (Wiktionary)
- French : force, force + majeure, greater. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But even where this is so, the additional costs incident to an event of force majeure are the guarantor’s concern.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘force majeure’.
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ENVI - Collocations DEFG
An extract from the "Zold Tolmacs" project, a HU-EN environmental dictionary compiled by Robert Gulyas in 2000.
dactylis glomerata, daily allowance, daily contact zone, daily cycle of tides, daily intake level, daily mortality rate, daily office and ..., daily peak, daily range in va..., daily runoff regu..., daily SO2 levels, dairy cattle and 5213 more...
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The Aubrey/Maturin List I'm Gonna Mak...
I'm wading through Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels one by one, and someday, I'll wade through them again and list all the words I learned while reading them.
Edit: I started ma...studdingsail, carronade, mumchance, grumlin-futtocks, crosscat-harpings, holystone, sennit, orlop, orchitis, negus, kevel, altumal and 1112 more...
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traipsin' 'long through dis 'ear book...
Words which are either entirely new to me or;
Words which I comprehend generally but would prefer a more precise definition.
venality, seigneurial, mendicant, perforce, manse, glebe, trenchant, saw, obstreperous, profligate, dissipation, galliard and 176 more...
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I am the law!
Words I learnt at law school
appeal, blackletter, contract, dictum, headnote, judgment, litigation, malfeasance, negligence, plaintiff, quantum, remedy and 216 more...
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business terms
I'm studying business law, this list will contain words I would like to implement in my language and terminology.
commingling, novation, indemnification, prospectus, quorum, commingled, agent, trustee, honorariums, fiduciary, usurp, dissolution and 94 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3248 more...
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GRE uncommon
patronage, expletive, exhort, exegesis, execrable, excommunicate, evince, escarpment, ersatz, ergo, epoxy, snare and 1202 more...
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Reading Graham Robb
Robb, Graham. (2007). The Discovery of France. New York: W.W. Norton
phonolithic, geometer, diligence, ling, boscage, tiffins, force majeure, pelota, clocher, agoraphobia, cagot, redound and 1 more...
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French
bon vivant, carte blanche, chef-d’oeuvre, c’est la vie, de rigueur, joie de vivre, raison d'être, precis, pince-nez, faux pas, nouveau pauvre, pas de deux and 1 more...
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Real Estate Law
The area I'm employed in - not as an attorney but a civil servant working as the clerk of a county assessment appeals board.
joint tenant, interspousal, abutting, fee simple, inter vivos trust, grantee, hold harmless, laches, leasehold estate, right of survivor..., life estate, mechanic's lien and 86 more...
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la baguette
bête noire, l'esprit d'escalier, noblesse oblige, cause célèbre, coup de grâce, belle époque, carte blanche, de rigueur, outré, sang-froid, force majeure, enfant terrible and 44 more...
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Not English
ancien régime, amour propre, belle époque, au fait, bon vivant, cognoscenti, joie de vivre, enfant terrible, entente cordiale, fille de joie, macquillage, noblesse and 21 more...
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nicsims's Words
insouciant, hircine, ubiquitous, labyrinth, plangent, jingoistic, unctuous, inchoate, roue, wastrel, pulchritude, bourgeoisie and 77 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for force majeure.

wordwench A good word about now.. Sep 30, 2008
chained_bear "'Bless me, the Emperor's envoy has put off already.'
"'God damn and blast the man,' cried the Admiral, looking angrily at the clock. 'Let him go and ... no: we must not offend the Moors. I shall not have time for Aubrey. Pray tell him so, Mr Yarrow—make my excuses—force majeure—do the civil thing—bid him to dinner and let him bring Dr Maturin; or let them come tomorrow morning, if that don't suit.'"
--Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World, 18
OED: "Irresistible force or overwhelming power," from the French for "superior power." In law, something that prevents a party from discharging its obligations. Feb 19, 2008