aguar

to water down

verb ah-GWAHR Rare

Also means

to spoil

Usage Note

Aguar literally means to add water to a drink, diluting it, but its most common use is figurative: aguar la fiesta (to rain on someone's parade, literally 'to water down the party'). Note the spelling: the u keeps its diaeresis in the subjunctive (agüe) to signal that it is pronounced, unlike the silent u in guerra. It is a regular -ar verb otherwise.

Examples

"No quiero aguar la fiesta con malas noticias."

Natural Translation

I don't want to spoil the party with bad news.

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