Spanish word

desesperar

Pronunciation

IPA/desespeˈɾaɾ/

Meaning

  • verbirritate

Example

Esperar en la fila me desespera.

Waiting in line irritates me.

Illustration for desesperar (irritate)

More examples

El tráfico intenso me desespera cuando tengo prisa.

Heavy traffic irritates me when I'm in a hurry.

Core concept

An action that grinds a person's patience into frustration.

Common phrases

  • me desespera la espera

    annoyance at waiting

  • hacer desesperar a alguien

    irritate someone

Similar words

molestar: Causes general annoyance or inconvenience, leaving someone bothered or uncomfortable.
irritar: Causes sharp, short-lived annoyance over minor irritations or small slights.
impacientar: Makes someone impatient and restless while waiting or expecting something.
fastidiar: Wears someone down with repeated annoyances until they feel fed up.

Definition in Spanish

Hacer perder la paciencia a alguien hasta causarle frustración o angustia.

Word origin

From Latin desperare (de- 'away' + sperare 'hope'), the verb's original sense of causing despair develops into the modern meaning of provoking impatience and distress.

Usage tips

  • Despite sharing roots with English desperate and despair, desesperar is a transitive verb that focuses on causing someone intense frustration rather than describing a person's state.

Other meanings

  • cause despairverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word