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abatir

to knock down

verb ah-bah-TEER Rare

Origin: From Latin abbattuere ('to beat down'), via Old French.

Also means

to demoralize

Usage Note

Abatir has two main senses: physical (to bring down, shoot down — abatir un avión) and psychological (to discourage or crush someone's spirit). The reflexive abatirse sobre means to swoop down on (as a bird of prey), which is a vivid literary use. Do not confuse with abatido, the past participle used as an adjective meaning 'downcast' or 'dejected'.

Examples

"Las malas noticias lo abatieron por completo."

Natural Translation

The bad news completely demoralized him.

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