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activar

to activate, to trigger

verb ahk-tee-BAHR Less Common
People & Society Community

Usage Note

Activar is a regular -ar verb. It covers both physical activation (e.g. activar una alarma) and figurative uses (activar la economía). The reflexive activarse means 'to kick in' or 'to spring into action' — el sistema de seguridad se activó (the security system kicked in).

Examples

"El bombero activó la alarma de incendio."

Natural Translation

The firefighter activated the fire alarm.

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