| Principales traductions |
| less adv | (not as) | moins adv |
| | I drive to work rather than take the train because it's less expensive. |
| less + [adjective] than adv | (not as ... as) | moins + [adjectif] que adv |
| | I find representational art less interesting than abstract art. |
| less adj | (smaller in quantity) | moins de adv + prép |
| | You have less work than I do. |
| | Tu as moins de travail que moi. |
| less adv | (not as much or as often) | moins adv |
| | I'll be fine, mom! You should worry less. |
| less adv | (not as much or as often as) | moins adv |
| | Richard exercises less than Audrey does. |
| | Richard fait moins de sport qu'Audrey. |
| less prep | (minus) | moins prép |
| | The ring sold for $5 million, less tax. |
| | La bague s'est vendue à 5 millions de dollars, moins les taxes. |
| less adj | nonstandard (with plural countable noun: fewer) | moins de adv + prép |
| Note: The correct comparative for plural countable nouns is "fewer", with "less" being used for uncountables, although the latter is very commonly and erroneously used with countable nouns. |
| | I've got less sweets than you. |
| | J'ai moins de bonbons que toi. |
| less pron | (smaller amount) | moins adv |
| | The price is fifty dollars, and I won't take less. |
| | Le prix est de cinquante dollars et il ne partira pas à moins. |
| less pron | nonstandard (plural countable: fewer) | moins adv |
| | There are less here than before. |
| | Il y en a moins ici qu'avant. |
Formes composées
less | little |
| any less adv | (not as) | moins adv |
| Note: used in questions and negatives |
| | Being young doesn't make her any less qualified for the job. |
| any less adv | (not as much) | moins adv |
| | Even though I disapprove of what you did, that doesn't mean that I love you any less. |
| | Même si je n'approuve pas ce que tu as fait, ça ne veut pas dire que je t'aime moins. |
couldn't care less,
also US: could care less v expr | informal (feel indifferent) (un peu familier) | s'en ficher⇒ v pron |
| | | s'en moquer complètement v pron |
| | (familier) | s'en balancer⇒ v pron |
| | | c'est le dernier de mes soucis expr |
| Note: The positive form 'could care less' (US) is often used colloquially with the same meaning as 'couldn't care less.' |
couldn't care less about [sth],
could not care less about [sth] v expr | informal (feel completely apathetic towards) (un peu familier) | se ficher de v pron + prép |
| | | se moquer complètement de v pron |
| | (familier) | se balancer de v pron + prép |
| | | c'est le dernier de mes soucis expr |
| | I couldn't care less about the tabloid headlines. |
| | Je me fiche complètement des gros titres de la presse à scandale. |
| | Les gros titres de la presse à scandale, c'est le dernier de mes soucis. |
| even less adj | (not so, not as) | encore moins adj |
| | This year's episodes of "Love or Lust" on TV are even less interesting than last year's. |
| | Cette année, les épisodes de "Love or Lust" sont encore moins intéressants que ceux de l'année dernière. |
| even less adv | (to a smaller degree) | encore moins loc adv |
| | I'm not keen on mice and I like rats even less. |
| far less adj | (not nearly so, nowhere near as) | bien moins adv |
| | My sister loves meeting new people; she is far less shy than I am. |
| | | beaucoup moins |
| | | largement moins adv |
| far less adj | (not nearly as much) | bien moins adv |
| | I watch far less TV than I used to. |
| far less adv | (to a much lesser degree) | bien moins adv |
| | I play guitar far less since taking up the piano. |
| | | beaucoup moins adv |
| less and less adv | (to a progressively smaller degree) | de moins en moins loc adv |
| | As I get older I like the hot weather less and less every year. |
| | En vieillissant, je supporte de moins en moins la canicule. |
| less is more expr | (it is better to be concise or subtle) (équivalent) | le mieux est l'ennemi du bien expr |
| | (équivalent) | point trop n'en faut expr |
| less than adj | (not as many as) | moins de loc adj |
| Note: sometimes considered incorrect; use 'fewer than' |
| | We have less than ten places available for students. |
| | Il y a moins de dix places disponibles pour les étudiants. |
| less than adj | (not as much or as great as) | moins que |
| | She ate less than her brother. Five is less than seven. |
| | Elle mangeait moins que son frère. Cinq est moins que sept. |
| make [sth/sb] less alarming⇒ vtr | (lessen the shock of [sth]) | dédramatiser⇒ vtr |
| | The prime minister was accused of 'doctoring' crime figures to make them less alarming. |
more haste,
less speed expr | (Work carefully to finish faster) | il ne faut pas confondre vitesse et précipitation expr |
| | | hâtez-vous lentement, hâte-toi lentement expr |
| | Proofreading requires a lot of careful attention to detail; it's a case of more haste, less speed. |
| more or less adv | (to a greater or lesser extent) | plus ou moins adv |
| | I have more or less decided to delay going to college for a year. |
| | Je me suis plus ou moins décidé à retarder d'un an mon entrée à l'université. |
| much less n | (a considerably smaller quantity) | beaucoup moins |
| | Men have fought wars for much less. |
| | Des hommes se sont fait la guerre pour beaucoup moins. |
| | | bien moins |
| | Des hommes se sont fait la guerre pour bien moins que cela. |
| much less adv | (to a lesser degree) | un peu moins adv |
| | If I liked her much less I wouldn't like her at all! |
| | Si je l'aimais un peu moins, je ne l'aimerais pas du tout ! |
| neither more nor less n | (the same amount or degree) | ni plus, ni moins |
| | | pas un de plus, pas un de moins |
| | Put a single egg , neither more nor less, into the bowl. Her daughter received neither more nor less from her will than her son did. |
| | Mettez un seul œuf, ni plus, ni moins, dans le bol. |
| | Mettez un seul œuf, pas un de plus, pas un de moins, dans le bol. |
| neither more nor less adv | (to the same amount or degree) | ni plus, ni moins |
| | This horse runs neither more nor less quickly than that one. |
| | Ce cheval ne court ni plus vite, ni moins vite que celui-là. |
nevertheless,
never the less adv | (however, even so) | néanmoins, toutefois, cependant adv |
| | She didn't like the price. Nevertheless, she bought it. |
| | Elle n'aimait pas le prix. Néanmoins, elle l'a acheté. |
| no less adv | (however surprising that seems) | rien que ça expr |
| | (familier) | excusez du peu expr |
| | He came top of his class, no less! |
| | Il est sorti premier de sa promotion, rien que ça (or: excusez du peu) ! |
| no less pron | (nothing inferior) | rien de moins expr |
| | I expect perfection; no less will do! |
| no less adv | (not any less, not to any lesser degree) | ni plus ni moins loc adv |
| | | au moins, pour le moins loc adv |
| | | au minimum loc adv |
| no less than expr | (at least) | pas moins de |
| Note: Often used to add emphasis. |
| | That year, inflation was no less than 60%, and people saw a dramatic fall in the value of their savings. No less than 150 people entered the contest. |
| | Avec un taux d'inflation de pas moins de 60% cette année, plusieurs personnes ont vu la valeur de leurs économies chuter brusquement. // Pas moins de 150 personnes se sont présentées au concours. |
| no less than expr | (equivalent to) | rien de moins que |
| | The general said that declaring a no-fly zone would be no less than an act of war. |
| | Le général a dit que la déclaration d'une zone d'exclusion aérienne ne constituerait rien de moins qu'un acte de guerre. |
| no more and no less n | (an equal amount or degree) | ni plus ni moins |
| | Put in one pint of oil, no more and no less. |
| | Ajoutez un demi-litre d'huile, ni plus ni moins. |
| no more and no less adv | (equally) | ni plus, ni moins loc adv |
| | The dental treatment hurt no more and no less than the last time. |
| | Le traitement dentaire m'a fait aussi mal que la dernière fois, ni plus, ni moins. |
| no more and no less adj | (exactly) | ni plus ni moins |
| | I will accept the proper fee, no more and no less. |
| | J'accepterai le tarif normal, ni plus ni moins. |
nothing less than [sth],
nothing short of [sth] expr | (with noun: only) | rien de moins que |
| | Nothing short of a full apology will mollify him. |
| | Pour l'amadouer, il ne faudra rien de moins que des excuses totales. |
nothing less than [sth],
nothing short of [sth] expr | (with adjective: utterly) | rien de moins que |
| | His behaviour was nothing short of rude. |
| | Son comportement n'était rien de moins que malpoli. |