despertar

despertar (first-person singular indicative present despierto, past participle despertáu)

1. alternative form of espertar

From Vulgar Latin *expertāre, from *expertus, from Latin experrēctus (“awoken”), perfect passive participle of expergīscor (“to awake, to wake up”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [dəs.pərˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [des.peɾˈtaɾ]
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

despertar (first-person singular present desperto, first-person singular preterite despertí, past participle despertat); root stress: (Central) /ɛ/; (Valencia) /e/; (Balearic) /ə/

1. (transitive) to wake, awaken, wake up
2. (transitive) to wake up (a feeling, sentiment), arouse
3. (intransitive or pronominal) to wake up (become awake)

• despert

• “despertar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

From Old Galician-Portuguese despertar, from earlier espertar, from Vulgar Latin *expertāre, from *expertus, from Latin experrēctus (“awoken”), perfect passive participle of expergīscor (“to awake, to wake up”). Cognate with Galician despertar, espertar, Catalan and Spanish despertar.

despertar (first-person singular present desperto, first-person singular preterite despertei, past participle despertado)

1. (intransitive) to awaken, to wake up (gain consciousness)

   Synonyms: acordar, espertar

   Antonyms: cair no sono, dormir

2. (intransitive) to go off (of an alarm)

   Synonyms: alarmar, alvoraçar

3. (transitive) to awaken (someone)
4. (transitive) to alarm (put on the alert)
5. (intransitive) to become interested [with para ‘in’]
6. (intransitive) to wake up (become more aware of a situation) [with para ‘to a situation’]
7. (transitive, figurative, poetic) to awaken (to excite or to stir up something latent)

   Synonyms: acordar, espertar, desencadear

• desperto

From despierto (“awake”) +‎ -ar, or it may correspond to a Vulgar Latin *expertāre, from *expertus, from Latin experrēctus (“awoken”), perfect passive participle of expergīscor (“to awake, to wake up”). Cognate with Galician despertar, espertar, Catalan despertar, Portuguese despertar, and Walloon dispierter.

• IPA^(key): /despeɾˈtaɾ/ [d̪es.peɾˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: des‧per‧tar

despertar (first-person singular present despierto, first-person singular preterite desperté, past participle despertado)

1. (transitive) to wake

   Despiértame a las siete, ¿vale?

   Wake me up at seven, OK?

2. (intransitive, often pronominal) to wake up

   No me puedo despertar tan temprano.

   I can't wake up that early.

3. (figurative, transitive) to awaken
4. (figurative, transitive) to pique (interest, curiosity)

   Fue solo la mención de la posibilidad de juntarnos en el bar la que despertó su interés.

   It was the mere mention of the possibility of us getting together at the bar that piqued his interest.

despertar m (plural despertares)

1. awakening

   Synonym: despertamiento

• Despertar is a false friend, and does not mean "desperate". The word for "desperate" in Spanish is desesperado.

• “despertar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “despertar”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Panhispanic Dictionary of Doubts] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, 2023, →ISBN