branleur
What does “branleur” mean in English?
It's an insult for someone perceived as lazy or contemptible. Literally, it means 'a person who masturbates.'
Literally “person who masturbates”
It's used as a direct insult, similar to calling someone a 'lazy bastard' in English. The tone is often derogatory, and it can be nonliteral, aimed at someone's character rather than their actions.
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Related French words
branlée
3/5 · VulgarIt refers to a significant defeat or crushing loss, often used in a sports context. It can also imply a physical beating in more violent situations.
branler
3/5 · VulgarIt refers to masturbation, but in negative constructions, it means not doing anything at all. It's a versatile term that can imply laziness or inaction.
merdeux
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult for someone who's obnoxious or contemptible, essentially calling them a 'shitty person.'
feignasse
2/5 · CoarseThis is an insult aimed at someone seen as extremely lazy. It literally translates to 'lazy person.'
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via LDNOOBW, Viddexa SafeText (CC-BY-4.0, MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.