francophone

adjective

fran·​co·​phone ˈfraŋ-kə-ˌfōn How to pronounce francophone (audio)
-kō-
often capitalized
: of, having, or belonging to a population using French as its first or sometimes second language
Francophone noun

Examples of francophone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The latter gathered Francophone entrepreneurs from the sprawling start-up hub known as Station F. Several initiatives were organized in collaboration with TV5 Monde, the French-speaking streamer. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024 For example, in largely francophone West Africa, France was once the dominant foreign power in nine of the region's 16 countries as of 1980 compared with only three today, according to our team’s Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity Index. Time, 3 Aug. 2023 The protests in Chad will add to further concerns by Western policymakers that more Francophone African countries will be taken over by military leaders that prefer to work with Russia rather than the West. Tom Collins, Quartz, 6 June 2022 This excellent collection of studies of six Francophone countries in the Sahel region of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal) examines the impact of democratization on state building since the early 1990s. Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2020 See all Example Sentences for francophone 

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of francophone was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near francophone

Cite this Entry

“Francophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/francophone. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on francophone

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!