Daily Spanish Vocabulary - verbs edition
involucrar = to involve, to have to do with
garabatear = to scribble, to scrawl, to doodle
[sometimes it's garrapatear but in my experience it's usually garabatear]
avisar = to warn / to inform
borrar = to erase, to delete, to wipe away
yuxtaponer = to juxtapose
yacer = "to lie on" / to be located
[most often said of places or geography, like la ciudad yace en un cruce "the city lies on a crossroads", or it can be a fancy way of saying "lie down"... it generally tends to be a bit more literary but is like "rests upon" or "is situated on"]
excavar = to dig up [lit. "dig out"]
socavar = to undermine [lit. "dig under"]
gestionar = to manage, to arrange, to run (a business)
[la gestión is another word for "management" usually in a business sense]
acabar = to carry out, to finish
acabar(se) = for something to run out [like se acaba el tiempo "time is running out"]
acabar de (hacer algo) = to have (just) done something [in the sense of recently]
acabar con (algo/alguien) = to get rid of / to put an end to
[with people it usually implies "killing" like "to finish off"]
brotar = to break out, to arise / to sprout
[can be used as plants, but also un brote is "an outbreak" either of things like diseases or even pimples, or it could be when something "appears" or "happens" like an "appearance"]
jurar = to swear (an oath), to promise, to vow
unir = to join, to unite
unirse = to join together, to merge
reunir = to gather together, to gather up
reunirse = to meet up (people), to have a meeting
disminuir = to decrease, to diminish
crecer = to grow, to rise, to expand / to wax (the moon)
crecer(se) = to grow up
menguar = to diminish, to wane [in general and also the moon], to ebb
cerrar = to close
cerrar con llave = to lock [lit. "to close with (a) key"]
cerrar a cal y canto = to block up, to seal completely
[a cal y canto sometimes a calicanto refers to something like brick and mortar; it's literally "lime(stone) and (brick) stone" for building materials but it means "to brick up" in a literal sense - in euphemisms it means "to seal off completely", calicanto usually refers to a brick wall or stonework]
desmoronar(se) = to collapse, to come crumbling down
eligir = to choose, to elect (someone)
desencadenar(se) = to unleash, to be unleashed
[lit. "to unchain"; can be used in the sense of "to be unleashed" the dramatic way... it also can literally mean "to take off someone's chains"]
trasnochar = to stay up late, to not sleep / "to stay out all night"
[sometimes "to pull an all-nighter"]
soplar = to blow air / for air or wind to blow
agitar = to shake / to agitate
[not in terms of shaking hands (which is usually darse la mano "to give each other one's hand) - this is "to shake" like shaking a drink]
temblar = to tremble, to shudder, to shake
[can also be "to shake" in the context of earthquakes]
encender = to light / to turn on (electronics)
apagar = to extinguish / to turn off (electronics)
hostigar = to plague, to annoy, to bother, to harass
enredar = to tangle, to entangle
rugir = to roar, to bellow, to boom
caducar = to expire, to no longer be valid
agregar = to add
añadir = to add
descongelar = to unfreeze / to thaw
equivocarse = to be wrong, to be mistaken
desterrar = to banish, to exile
aterrizar = to land
[usually said of flying things, like birds, planes or helicopters since it is literally "to-earth" - can also be "to touch down (on the ground)"]
contar = to count / to recount, to tell a story
contar con algo/alguien = to trust in something/someone, to rely on
sangrar(se) / desangrar(se) = to bleed / to bleed out / "to bleed dry"
blandir = to wield, to brandish
reproducir = to reproduce / to play back (audio)
derramar = to spill, to spill out / to hemorrhage
[you will also see derramar sangre which is "to shed/spill blood"]
quebrar = to break, to smash
torcer = to twist / to sprain (a body part)
retorcer(se) = to warp, to become twisted / to writhe
[as in wood becoming "warped" after rain etc, or for the truth to be "twisted"]
abrasar = to roast, to scorch, to raze
derrumbar = to knock down, to destroy
derrumbarse = (for something/someone) to collapse or break down
saludar = to greet / to salute
[also understood as "waving at someone", but still technically "greeting"]
despedir = to fire (someone from a job)
[it's also another word for "to give off" or "emit", but you're usually seeing this in a job setting as "to fire" or "to sack"]
despedirse (de) = to stay goodbye to, to bid farewell
arrojar = to throw, to toss
lanzar = to launch
[in the sense of projectiles like launching rockets or missiles, and also "to launch (a program)" both in marketing and in TV]
podar = to trim, to prune (trees/vegetation)
[usually vegetation but some people use it figuratively as "to get rid of" or "to trim off"]
amortiguar = to muffle / to cushion, "to soften the blow"
espantar = to frighten, to scare / "to scare away"
[as in el espantapájaros is "scarecrow" - or lit. "scares-birds", espantar can be used in this way to mean "to ward off" in some cases]
ahuyentar = to ward off, to chase off
huir = to flee, to run away
cosechar = to harvest, to reap
velar = to stay up, to stay awake / to keep vigil / to watch over, to keep vigil over
velar(se) = to shroud / to wear a veil
[two separate etymologies here deriving from la vela - the first one is la vela that comes from "vigil" so it can be both to stay awake or to guard, this version is also related to la vela that means "candle", and because of that la vela can also be "sleepless" or "wakefulness", and duermevela means "fitful sleep" or "light sleep", meaning "a wakeful sleep".......... the second vela is related to "sail of a ship" or "vellum" material, where it meant cloth or a piece of fabric; that's where you get el velo "veil" and el velorio "shroud"
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