allanar

to level

verb ah-yah-NAHR Rare

Origin: From llano (flat, plain), so literally to make flat.

Also means

to smooth the way

Usage Note

Allanar has a concrete sense of levelling or flattening a surface, and an important figurative sense of removing obstacles: allanar el camino (to smooth the way/pave the path) is a very common idiom. In legal contexts, allanar una vivienda means to enter a property by force or with legal authority, equivalent to 'to search' or 'to raid' in English. The reflexive allanarse a means to agree or yield to something.

Examples

"El acuerdo allanó el camino para nuevas inversiones."

Natural Translation

The agreement paved the way for new investments.

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