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afear

to make ugly

verb ah-feh-AHR Rare

Also means

to disfigure

Usage Note

Afear means to spoil the appearance of something or someone — el letrero afeaba la fachada (the sign made the facade ugly). It is also used figuratively and formally to mean 'to reproach' or 'to criticize harshly': le afeó su comportamiento means he strongly criticized his behavior. This second sense is literary and now somewhat archaic.

Examples

"El grafiti afeaba el edificio histórico."

Natural Translation

The graffiti made the historic building ugly.

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