eliminar
Lemma Details
Translation: to eliminate; to remove; to delete; to get rid of; to eradicate; to wipe out
Part of Speech: verb
Etymology: Derived from Latin 'eliminare', which combines 'ex' (out) + 'limen' (threshold), literally meaning 'to put out of doors' or 'to banish'. The English cognate 'eliminate' shares the same Latin root. The concept of crossing a threshold (limen) to remove something completely is central to both the Spanish and English terms.
Commonality: 80%
Guessability: 90%
Register: neutral
Example Usage
Necesitamos eliminar estos errores del documento.
We need to eliminate these errors from the document.
El equipo fue eliminado del torneo.
The team was eliminated from the tournament.
Elimina los archivos que ya no necesitas.
Delete the files you no longer need.
Esta nueva política eliminará muchas barreras.
This new policy will eliminate many barriers.
Mnemonics
- Think of 'eliminate' in English - they sound almost identical.
- Imagine pushing something over a threshold (limen) and out of a door - you're eliminating it from your space.
- E-liminar: the 'E' stands for 'exit' - things are exiting or being removed.
Related Words, Phrases & Idioms
Synonyms
Cultural Context
In Spanish sports contexts, 'eliminar' is frequently used to describe when a team is knocked out of a tournament. It's also commonly used in digital contexts for deleting files or data, and in political discourse for removing policies or barriers.
Easily Confused With
Explanation: 'Eliminar' means 'to eliminate' or 'to remove', while 'iluminar' means 'to illuminate' or 'to light up'. They look and sound similar but have completely different meanings.
Notes: The confusion often happens because both are -ar verbs with similar letter patterns and only differ by a few letters.
Mnemonic: 'Eliminar' starts with 'e' for 'erase' or 'exit', while 'iluminar' starts with 'i' for 'illuminate'.
Explanation: 'Eliminar' means 'to eliminate' completely, while 'limitar' means 'to limit' or 'to restrict' without completely removing.
This word:
Vamos a eliminar esta sección del informe.
We're going to eliminate this section of the report.
Notes: Both words share the root 'lim', but have different prefixes and meanings.
Mnemonic: 'Eliminar' has that extra 'e' at the beginning - it goes beyond limiting to completely removing.