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atener

to abide by, to stick to

verb ah-teh-NEHR Rare

Usage Note

Atener is almost always reflexive: atenerse a means 'to abide by' rules, consequences, or facts. The phrase atenerse a las consecuencias ('to face the consequences') is a set expression. It conjugates like tener (irregular: me atengo, te atienes, etc.) and is formal in register.

Examples

"Tienes que atenerte a las reglas."

Natural Translation

You have to abide by the rules.

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