Skip to content

obrar

to act

verb oh-BRAHR Rare

Origin: From Latin operare, to work.

Also means

to work (medicine/law)

Usage Note

Obrar is a formal or literary verb meaning to act, to do, or to be in one's possession (obra en mi poder = it is in my possession). In legal language obrar en autos means 'to be on file'. It can also mean for a remedy to take effect (el medicamento obró rápido). In everyday speech actuar or hacer are far more common.

Examples

"Debemos obrar con honestidad siempre."

Natural Translation

We must always act with honesty.

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic