ahuyentar

to drive away

verb ah-ooy-en-TAHR Rare

Also means

to scare off

Usage Note

Ahuyentar combines the prefix a- with an old root related to huir ('to flee'), giving it the causative sense of 'to make flee'. It applies both to animals (scaring birds from a field) and figuratively to abstract threats (ahuyentar el miedo, 'to dispel fear'). The -uy- sequence produces the diphthong sound /uj/, giving the third syllable an 'ooy' quality unusual in common Spanish vocabulary.

Examples

"El perro ahuyentó a los intrusos."

Natural Translation

The dog drove the intruders away.

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