ceñir
Spanish, verb/θeˈɲiɾ/
ceñir is spelled C-E-Ñ-I-R (5 letters) and appears about once in every 10 million words in written Spanish, the 116,020th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ceñir is a Spanish verb meaning “to adjust (clothing)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Rodear y ajustar al cuerpo –especialmente a la cintura– el vestido u otra cosa”.
What does ceñir mean in English?
verb
- 1
to adjust (clothing)
- 2
to encircle, gird
- 3
to surround, be around
- 4
to hug, to be tight (said of clothing)
- 5
to restrict, limit
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Rodear y ajustar al cuerpo –especialmente a la cintura– el vestido u otra cosa. 2. No sobrepasar un límite fijado. 3. Navegar a vela en contra de la dirección del viento. 4. En el ámbito de acción militar o de combate: Cercar, estrechar.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ceñir
- ciño first-person present singular
- ceñí first-person preterite singular
- ceñido participle past
- e-i alternation
- ciñendo gerund
- ceñida feminine participle past
- ceñidos masculine participle past
- ceñidas feminine participle past
- ciñes indicative informal present
- ceñís indicative informal present
- ciñe indicative present singular
- ceñimos first-person indicative plural
- ciñen indicative plural present
- ceñía first-person imperfect indicative
- ceñías imperfect indicative second-person
- ceñíamos first-person imperfect indicative
- ceñíais imperfect indicative plural
- ceñían imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ceñir?
- /θeˈɲiɾ/
- [θeˈɲiɾ]
- /seˈɲiɾ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ceñir
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ceñir in Spanish?
ceñir appears about once in every 10 million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).