desafiar
Spanish, verb/desaˈfjaɾ/
desafiar is spelled D-E-S-A-F-I-A-R (8 letters) and appears 2.6 times per million words in written Spanish, the 19,055th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Desafiar is a Spanish verb meaning “to challenge (in a competition)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Retar, provocar a singular combate, batalla o pelea”.
What does desafiar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to challenge (in a competition)
- 2
to defy, to challenge (e.g. parents, a leader, the status quo)
- 3
to brave
- 4
to call out (i.e. to criticize or expose)
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Retar, provocar a singular combate, batalla o pelea. 2. Contender o competir con otros en cosas que requieren fuerza, agilidad o destreza. 3. Competir u oponerse una cosa a otra. 4. Afrontar con decisión o fuerza de ánimo alguna situación difícil o un destino adverso.
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 desafiar
- desafío first-person present singular
- desafié first-person preterite singular
- desafiado participle past
- i-í alternation
- desafiando gerund
- desafiada feminine participle past
- desafiados masculine participle past
- desafiadas feminine participle past
- desafías indicative informal present
- desafiás indicative informal present
- desafía indicative present singular
- desafiamos first-person indicative plural
- desafiáis indicative plural present
- desafían indicative plural present
- desafiaba first-person imperfect indicative
- desafiabas imperfect indicative second-person
- desafiábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- desafiabais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce desafiar?
- /desaˈfjaɾ/
- [d̪e.saˈfjaɾ]
- [d̪esaˈfjaɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to desafiar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is desafiar in Spanish?
desafiar appears 2.6 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).