atropello

outrage

noun ah-troh-PEH-yoh Rare

Also means

running over

Usage Note

Atropello comes from atropellar (to run over, to trample), and it carries both a literal sense — a vehicle running over a person — and a figurative sense of a flagrant violation of rights or dignity. The figurative use is now more common: un atropello de los derechos humanos (an outrage against human rights). The double sense is a useful memory hook.

Examples

"Esa detención fue un atropello injustificable."

Natural Translation

That arrest was an unjustifiable outrage.

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