intrigar

to intrigue, to fascinate

verb een-tree-GAHR Rare

Origin: From French intriguer, ultimately from Italian intrigare

Also means

to scheme, to plot

Usage Note

Intrigar has two distinct senses: the intransitive 'to fascinate/intrigue someone' (me intriga su comportamiento — his behavior intrigues me) and the less common transitive 'to scheme or plot'. The first is by far the more frequent in modern Spanish. Note the spelling change in the subjunctive/imperative: intrigues, intrique (g → gu before e/i).

Examples

"Su silencio me intriga mucho."

Natural Translation

His silence intrigues me a lot.

Literal Translation

To-me intrigues his silence a lot.

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