supprimer
/sy.pʁi.me/
The French verb for 'to delete' is supprimer.
Supprimer is a common formal term for delete used in digital contexts. Retirer can be used in a formal context as a synonym for delete, though its primary meaning is to remove.
Meaning: to remove (verb)
Which one should you use?
While supprimer is used for deleting digital files or records, effacer is more commonly used for physically erasing something, like writing on a chalkboard or a mistake on paper.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun form of the verb is suppression. The past participle 'supprimé' is used to mean 'deleted' when functioning as an adjective or in compound tenses.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables: /sy.pʁi.me/.
Did you know?
- The verb supprimer can be used as a euphemism for 'to kill' or 'to eliminate' a person, often appearing in crime novels or police reports.
- While supprimer means 'to delete' in a digital sense, it is also the standard word used when a government 'suppresses' or eliminates a tax, a law or a public service.
- The noun suppression refers to deleting a file, but it also describes the physical act of stifling a cough or a sneeze.
Examples in context
- Veuillez supprimer cette phrase, je vous prie.Please delete this sentence.This sentence is useful for practicing a polite request to use supprimer.Tatoeba #1370640 by sacredceltic, translation #1368314 by Spamster
- Comment est-ce que je fais pour supprimer ce fichier ?How do I delete this file?This sentence shows how to ask how to use supprimer regarding a file.Tatoeba #5743772 by Petrus, translation #5741693 by CM
- Supprimer ?Delete?This sentence shows the single-word question form of supprimer.Tatoeba #13355648 by genes1s, translation #13345998 by Nicat
- Marie a dû supprimer son compte Facebook pour des raisons de confidentialité.Marie had to delete her Facebook account for privacy reasons.
- Est-ce que tu peux effacer ces fichiers inutiles de mon ordinateur ?Can you delete these unnecessary files from my computer?
- J'ai viré ce numéro de téléphone de ma liste de contacts.I deleted that phone number from my contact list.
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are cleaning up a shared computer.
- ChloéLucas, est-ce que je peux supprimer ce fichier ?Lucas, can I delete this file?
- LucasOui, tu peux le supprimer sans problème.Yes, you can delete it without any problem.
- ChloéD'accord, je vais le faire maintenant.Okay, I'm going to do it now.
- LucasMerci, Chloé, c'est beaucoup mieux comme ça.Thanks, Chloé, it's much better like this.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “delete” translations and entries supprimer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
