Spanish Conversation · Level 60
76 words
Spanish word
tambalear
Pronunciation
IPA/tambaleˈaɾ/
Meaning
- verbstagger
Example
Después de la fiesta, ella se tambaleaba por la calle.
After the party, she was staggering down the street.
More examples
El anciano empezó a tambalear al bajar las escaleras.
The old man began to stagger as he went down the stairs.
Core concept
Swaying steps that make the walker look about to fall.
Common phrases
tambalear por la calle
stagger along the street
tambalear al caminar
stagger when walking
tambalear por la borrachera
stagger from drunkenness
Similar words
vacilar: Lose physical balance through hesitant, wavering steps.
bambolear: Sway broadly with large, loose movements that clearly lack stability.
oscilar: Move back and forth or side to side in a regular, rhythmic swing.
tropezar: Trip over an obstacle and momentarily lose balance.
Definition in Spanish
Moverse de manera vacilante o inestable, especialmente al caminar, dando la impresión de estar a punto de caer.
Word origin
The verb derives from the onomatopoeic stem tambal- expressing a swaying or tottering noise and the productive verb suffix -ear, which creates actions of repeated or continuous motion.
Usage tips
- Spanish often uses the reflexive form tambalearse to indicate that someone becomes unsteady, so common descriptions of balance loss appear as se tambalea or se tambalearon.
Other meanings
- stumbleverb
- wobbleverb
Opposites
- equilibrarbalanceverb
- estabilizarstabilizeverb
Related words
- tambaleounsteadinessnoun
- tambaleanteunsteadyadjective
- tambaleadostaggeredadjective