Spanish Conversation · Level 46
75 words
Spanish word
naufragar
Pronunciation
IPA/nawfɾaˈɣaɾ/
Meaning
- verbsink
Example
El barco naufragó durante la tormenta.
The ship sank during the storm.
More examples
Su campaña publicitaria naufragó antes de empezar.
His advertising campaign failed before it began.
Core concept
A wooden ship breaking apart in a storm and sinking.
Common phrases
hacer naufragar
cause to sink
naufragar por falta de apoyo
fail for lack of support
naufragar en el intento
fail in the attempt
Similar words
hundirse: Move down into the water and become submerged on its own.
hundir: Make something go under the water, typically by applying force.
fracasar: Fail to produce the intended or desired outcome; end in failure.
Definition in Spanish
Describe el hundimiento de una embarcación por accidente o daño y, por metáfora, el colapso o fracaso total de una empresa, plan o idea.
Word origin
From Latin naufragium 'shipwreck', formed from navis 'ship' and frangere 'to break', originally referring to a vessel's wreck and later used figuratively for a total collapse.
Usage tips
- More dramatic than hundirse or fracasar in everyday speech, naufragar often appears in written or emphatic contexts to describe a literal shipwreck or a plan that fails catastrophically.
Other meanings
- be shipwreckedverb
- failverb
Opposites
- triunfarsucceedverb
Related words
- naufragioshipwrecknoun
- naufragadoshipwreckedadjective