sferzare
Italian
Etymology
Unknown, but possibly sferza (“whip, lash”) + -are.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sferˈt͡sa.re/
- Rhymes: -are
- Hyphenation: sfer‧zà‧re
Verb
sferzàre (first-person singular present sfèrzo, first-person singular past historic sferzài, past participle sferzàto, auxiliary avére) (transitive)
- to whip or lash
- Synonyms: frustare, fustigare, flagellare; see also Thesaurus:battere
- (figurative, by extension) to strike or hit violently (of a natural agent)
- le onde sferzavano la riva
- the waves broke on the shore
- la grandine ha sferzato la campagna
- the hail hit the countryside
- (figurative, by extension) to criticize harshly
- Synonyms: criticare, biasimare; see also Thesaurus:rimproverare
- (figurative, by extension) to stimulate; to spur
Conjugation
Conjugation of sferzàre (-are) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
Derived terms
Further reading
- sferzare in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana