desatar

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Galician-Portuguese des-

Portuguese des-

Portuguese atar

Portuguese desatar

From des- + atar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /de.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [de.zaˈta(h)], /d͡ʒi.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.zaˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /de.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [de.zaˈta(h)], /d͡ʒi.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.zaˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /de.zaˈta(ɾ)/, /d͡ʒi.zaˈta(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /de.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [de.zaˈta(χ)], /d͡ʒi.zaˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.zaˈta(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /de.zaˈta(ɻ)/, /d͡ʒi.zaˈta(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨ.zɐˈtaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨ.zɐˈtaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨ.zɐˈta.ɾi/

Verb

desatar (first-person singular present desato, first-person singular preterite desatei, past participle desatado)

1. to untie

Conjugation

    Conjugation of desatar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	desatar
Personal	desatar	desatares	desatar	desatarmos	desatardes	desatarem
Gerund
	desatando
Past participle
Masculine	desatado			desatados
Feminine	desatada			desatadas
Indicative
Present	desato	desatas	desata	desatamos	desatais	desatam
Imperfect	desatava	desatavas	desatava	desatávamos	desatáveis	desatavam
Preterite	desatei	desataste	desatou	desatamos1, desatámos2	desatastes	desataram
Pluperfect	desatara	desataras	desatara	desatáramos	desatáreis	desataram
Future	desatarei	desatarás	desatará	desataremos	desatareis	desatarão
Conditional	desataria	desatarias	desataria	desataríamos	desataríeis	desatariam
Subjunctive
Present	desate	desates	desate	desatemos	desateis	desatem
Imperfect	desatasse	desatasses	desatasse	desatássemos	desatásseis	desatassem
Future	desatar	desatares	desatar	desatarmos	desatardes	desatarem
Imperative
Affirmative		desata	desate	desatemos	desatai	desatem
Negative (não)		não desates	não desate	não desatemos	não desateis	não desatem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Further reading

• “desatar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “desatar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Spanish des-

Spanish des-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ptós

Proto-Italic *aptos

Latin aptus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin apiō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tos

Latin -tus

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -tō

Latin aptō

Old Spanish atar

Spanish atar

Spanish desatar

From des- + atar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /desaˈtaɾ/ [d̪e.saˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: de‧sa‧tar

Verb

desatar (first-person singular present desato, first-person singular preterite desaté, past participle desatado)

1. (transitive, reflexive) to untie, undo, unfasten, unleash
2. (transitive) to provoke, set off, trigger (especially suddenly)
   • 2018 September 25, Pablo León, “¿Para quién es ‘cool’ Lavapiés?”, in El País‎^[1]:

     Gran parte de los manteros de la ciudad viven allí por lo que la muerte de Mame Mbaye, de 35 años, desató una oleada de protestas –se prendió fuego a contenedores y vehículos- y un gran despliegue policial para apaciguar el barrio.

     Many of the city's street vendors live there, so the death of 35-year-old Mame Mbaye sparked a wave of protests – dumpsters and vehicles were set on fire – and a large police deployment to pacify the neighborhood.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of desatar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			desatar
gerund			desatando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		desatado		desatada
		plural		desatados		desatadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	desato	desatastú desatásvos	desata	desatamos	desatáis	desatan
	imperfect	desataba	desatabas	desataba	desatábamos	desatabais	desataban
	preterite	desaté	desataste	desató	desatamos	desatasteis	desataron
	future	desataré	desatarás	desatará	desataremos	desataréis	desatarán
	conditional	desataría	desatarías	desataría	desataríamos	desataríais	desatarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	desate	desatestú desatésvos2	desate	desatemos	desatéis	desaten
	imperfect (ra)	desatara	desataras	desatara	desatáramos	desatarais	desataran
	imperfect (se)	desatase	desatases	desatase	desatásemos	desataseis	desatasen
	future1	desatare	desatares	desatare	desatáremos	desatareis	desataren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		desatatú desatávos	desate	desatemos	desatad	desaten
	negative		no desates	no desate	no desatemos	no desatéis	no desaten

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of desatar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive desatar	dative	desatarme	desatarte	desatarle, desatarse	desatarnos	desataros	desatarles, desatarse
	accusative	desatarme	desatarte	desatarlo, desatarla, desatarse	desatarnos	desataros	desatarlos, desatarlas, desatarse
with gerund desatando	dative	desatándome	desatándote	desatándole, desatándose	desatándonos	desatándoos	desatándoles, desatándose
	accusative	desatándome	desatándote	desatándolo, desatándola, desatándose	desatándonos	desatándoos	desatándolos, desatándolas, desatándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative desata	dative	desátame	desátate	desátale	desátanos	not used	desátales
	accusative	desátame	desátate	desátalo, desátala	desátanos	not used	desátalos, desátalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative desatá	dative	desatame	desatate	desatale	desatanos	not used	desatales
	accusative	desatame	desatate	desatalo, desatala	desatanos	not used	desatalos, desatalas
with formal second-person singular imperative desate	dative	desáteme	not used	desátele, desátese	desátenos	not used	desáteles
	accusative	desáteme	not used	desátelo, desátela, desátese	desátenos	not used	desátelos, desátelas
with first-person plural imperative desatemos	dative	not used	desatémoste	desatémosle	desatémonos	desatémoos	desatémosles
	accusative	not used	desatémoste	desatémoslo, desatémosla	desatémonos	desatémoos	desatémoslos, desatémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative desatad	dative	desatadme	not used	desatadle	desatadnos	desataos	desatadles
	accusative	desatadme	not used	desatadlo, desatadla	desatadnos	desataos	desatadlos, desatadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative desaten	dative	desátenme	not used	desátenle	desátennos	not used	desátenles, desátense
	accusative	desátenme	not used	desátenlo, desátenla	desátennos	not used	desátenlos, desátenlas, desátense

Derived terms

• no atar ni desatar

Further reading

• “desatar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• Estrada