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desbocado

runaway

adjective dehs-boh-KAH-doh Rare

Origin: From des- (un-) + boca (mouth), literally 'unbridled at the mouth'.

Also means

out of control

Usage Note

Desbocado literally described a horse that had slipped its bridle and run off — un caballo desbocado — but metaphorically it now applies to any uncontrolled situation: inflación desbocada (runaway inflation), imaginación desbocada (unbridled imagination). It is always applied with negative or alarming connotations.

Examples

"El caballo desbocado cruzó el campo a toda velocidad."

Natural Translation

The runaway horse crossed the field at full speed.

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