congédier

Congédier is a formal, somewhat literary way to say to dismiss or let go — an employer congédie an employee (congédier un salarié), or, in an older sense, a host congédie a visitor by sending them away. Everyday French reaches for renvoyer or licencier instead.

• La direction a congédié plusieurs cadres. — Management dismissed several executives.
• Le roi congédia ses conseillers d'un geste de la main. — The king dismissed his advisers with a wave of the hand.
• Elle fut congédiée sans préavis. — She was let go without notice.

Congédier sounds notably more formal and literary than the everyday licencier or renvoyer — using it in casual conversation about losing a job would sound stilted, like a legal document.

Often confused with licencier.