force majeure
5
9.8
- noun
- /fɔrs məˈʒɜr/
- Formal
- In cases where a significant number of attendees can't make it due to the storm, it's important that a force majeure clause allows for partial performance to be covered, says attorney James Goldberg, principal, Goldberg and Associates, Washington, D.C.
- force majeure clause
- force majeure language
Examples
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Libya declares "force majeure" regarding oil exports.
Blog text (6) -
FB, anyone signing a contract now should insert a force majeure clause.
Blog text (6) -
I would appreciate hearing from lawyers about the current use of force majeure.
Blog text (6) -
I suspect it required force majeure and some form of crisis to alter human behavior.
Blog text (29) -
Listen, Lieutenant, you may know this and you may not, but in the law there's a thing called force majeure.
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The US District Court, Northern District, found that force majeure does not extend leases.
Blog text (25) -
For example, a new duty of care is causing businesses to take second looks at force majeure clauses in most commercial contracts.
Academic text (2002) -
Would it be possible to claim force majeure as a cause for being unable to meet debt obligations as the conditions under which one committed to the debt payment no longer exist?
Blog text (6) -
The government routinely mitigates loss due to force majeure incidents.
Blog text (19) -
The contract included a force majeure clause to protect the parties from unforeseen natural disasters.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A sudden event that causes great damage, loss, or failure
174
7.0
A sudden terrible event that causes great damage and suffering
22
6.8
A natural event like a flood or earthquake that cannot be prevented by people
1
6.0
An unexpected event you cannot stop even with great care
A strong natural event like an earthquake or flood that you cannot stop and that stops normal life
Surface Forms
Morphology
force + majeure
Although 'force' conveys power and 'majeure' can be recognized as related to 'major' in other languages, the precise legal meaning — an extraordinary, unforeseeable event that excuses contractual performance — is specialized and not fully deducible from the parts. The expression is a French loan used cross-linguistically (e.g., fuerza mayor), so learners may get a rough sense of 'great force' but not the full contractual nuance, making it partially but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Force majeure comes from French meaning 'greater force', made of force and majeure. Imagine a huge storm or a war that is stronger than people and makes it impossible to keep a promise. That's why force majeure now means an event that 'frees someone from a contract'.