Dictionary

cri de coeur en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌkɹiː.dəˈkɜː/ (UK)
• /ˌkɹi.dəˈkɚ/ (US)

Etymology

From French cri du cœur, meaning approximately “a cry from the heart”.

Meanings

1. An impassioned outcry, appeal, protest or entreaty.
   • Personal accounts of racial discrimination were eagerly sought by whites seeking to understand "those people," while blacks justly valued them as overdue cris de coeur. 2014 May 28, John McWhorter, “Saint Maya”, in The New Republic, →ISSN:
   • What do you think of Mr. Salinger's cri de coeur? 2011, Stephen King, 11/22/63, New York: Scribner, →ISBN, page 308:
   • But “Funeral for Justice,” due May 3, amps up the urgency in his work. It is a cri de coeur of screaming guitars and lyrics decrying the legacy of colonialism in Niger and throughout Africa, where Western powers retain a strong but not always welcome influence, and political and economic instability are endemic hazards. 2024 April 22, Ben Sisario, “Mdou Moctar’s Guitar Is a Screaming Siren Against Africa’s Colonial Legacy”, in The New York Times, retrieved 02 May 2024:
   • McCarthy’s reign was dangerous, but it lasted only three years, and it was attorney Joseph Welch’s heartfelt cri de Coeur during the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954—“Have you no sense of decency, sir?”—that rang the loudest. 2015 August 27, Michael Signer, “What Happens When Donald Trump Stirs Up 'Passionate' Supporters”, in The Atlantic:

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