desempolvar

[d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ]

/[d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ]/ verb

The verdict

“desempolvar” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #70,171 among 4,885 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,171
frequency rank, Spanish
4,885
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Quitar el polvo de algo.

Corpus desk

Index ES-desempolvar · desempolvar · Spanish

desempolvar · rank #70,171 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,171
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,885
  • PHOTO-FINISH desaprovechado

Nearest frequency peer: desaprovechado (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “desempolvar”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “desempolvar” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for desempolvar
PropertyValue
Headworddesempolvar
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ]
Letters11
Frequency rank#70,171
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “desempolvar” en español

Esta escala corre desde el núcleo del español cotidiano (izquierda) hasta el rastro de formas rara vez usadas (derecha).desempolvarcae en esta cola de rareza:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “desaprovechado” (#70,170), “desertaron” (#70,172), “desalentado” (#70,169). Entre 4,885 lemas con “D”, “desempolvar” va en #70,171. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

desempolvar is uncommon Spanish at frequency #70,171 among 4,885 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for desempolvar in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is desempolvar, spelled D-E-S-E-M-P-O-L-V-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quitar el polvo de algo.
  2. 2
    Recordar algo que hace mucho tiempo no se empleaba o recordaba.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "desempolvar"?
"desempolvar" is spelled D-E-S-E-M-P-O-L-V-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is [d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ].
What does "desempolvar" mean?
As a verb, "desempolvar" means: Quitar el polvo de algo.
How do you pronounce "desempolvar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "desempolvar" is [d̪esẽmpolˈβ̞aɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "desempolvar" come from?
"desempolvar" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "desempolvar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list