Level: B1 (Intermediate)
The French word of the day is: Surmonter (B1), a regular ER verb meaning ‘to overcome’, ‘to surmount’, ‘to conquer’, ‘to rise above’ and ‘to get over’.
surmonter – IPA pronunciation /syʀ.mɔ̃.te/
Word origin
Surmonter combines the prefix sur- (on) and the verb monter (to climb, to ascend). Sur comes from super and monter comes from montare in Latin.
Surmonter example sentences
Patrice réussit à surmonter toutes ses difficultés grâce à l’aide de ses amis.
Patrice manages to overcome all of his difficulties thanks to the help of his friends.
L’adolescent a surmonté ses peurs avec l’aide d’un psychologue.
The teenager overcame his (or her) fears with the help of a psychologist.
Que faites-vous pour surmonter les difficultés de la vie ?
What do you do to get over difficulties in life?
This example sentences uses the inversion form of asking questions.
Surmonter conjungation
Surmonter is a regular ER verb and follows the same conjugation pattern as parler (to speak).
Je surmonte I get over
Tu surmontes You get over (informal, singular)
Il, elle surmonte He, she gets over
Nous surmontons We get over
Vous surmontez You get over (formal, plural)
Ils, elles surmontent They get over
Related words and expressions
- S’en sortir: To get by, to manage, to pull through
- Vaincre: To conquer, to defeat
- Passer outre (à): To disregard, to override, to get past
- Dépasser: To exceed, to go beyond, to get over
- Maîtriser: To master, to control
- Faire face (à): To face, deal with
- Trier (des difficultés): To sort out, deal with
Continue learning French!
Now that you’ve mastered surmonter, check out our lessons explaining the verb gérer (to manage) and faire face à (to face, confront).
