Spanish nuanced verbs vocabulary

45 words at level C1, with English translations and example sentences. Spain's words come first, with Latin American alternatives where they differ.

Spanish	English	Example
quedarse	to stay, to remain; quedarse con = to keep	Se quedó sin palabras. She was left speechless.
ponerse	to put on; to become, to get; ponerse a + inf. = to start	Se puso pálido al oírlo. He went pale when he heard it.
volverse	to turn round; to become (lasting change of character: volverse loco)	Se ha vuelto muy desconfiado. He's become very mistrustful.
hacerse	to become; to get; hacerse daño = to hurt oneself	Se hizo abogada a los treinta. She became a lawyer at thirty.
convertirse en	to become, to turn into (irreg.: me convierto)	La casa se convirtió en un museo. The house became a museum.
llegar a ser	to come to be, to end up being (after a process)	Llegó a ser directora del hospital. She went on to become director of the hospital.
soler	to usually do (suelo + inf.) (irreg.: suelo, sueles)	Suelo desayunar en casa. I usually have breakfast at home.
acostumbrarse a	to get used to	Ya me he acostumbrado al clima. I've got used to the climate now.
darse cuenta de	to realise, to notice	No me di cuenta de la hora. I didn't realise what time it was.
enterarse de	to find out about, to hear about	Me enteré de la noticia por la radio. I heard the news on the radio.
averiguar	to find out (averigüe)	Hay que averiguar qué pasó. We need to find out what happened.
pretender	to intend, aim to; to expect (not "to pretend")	¿Qué pretendes con eso? What are you trying to achieve with that?
fingir	to pretend, fake (irreg. spelling: finjo)	Fingió que no me había visto. He pretended he hadn't seen me.
lograr	to achieve; to manage to	Logró terminar la carrera. She managed to finish her degree.
conseguir	to get, to achieve; to manage to (irreg.: consigo, consiguió)	No consigo dormir. I can't manage to sleep.
aprovechar	to make the most of, take advantage of	Aprovecha el buen tiempo. Make the most of the good weather.
aprovecharse de	to take (unfair) advantage of, to exploit	Se aprovechan de los turistas. They take advantage of tourists.
soportar	to stand, to bear, to put up with	No soporto el calor. I can't stand the heat.
aguantar	to bear, to stand; to hold; ¡aguanta! = hang on!	No aguanto más. I can't take any more.
echar de menos	to miss (someone or something) (LatAm: extrañar)	Echo de menos el mar. I miss the sea.
extrañar	to miss (esp. LatAm; Spain: echar de menos); to surprise	Me extraña que no haya llamado. I'm surprised she hasn't called.
faltar	to be missing, lack; to be left; to miss (class)	Me faltan dos euros. I'm two euros short.
sobrar	to be left over; to be too much	Sobró mucha comida. There was a lot of food left over.
bastar	to be enough; ¡basta! = that's enough!	Basta con un poco de sal. A little salt is enough.
tardar	to take (time); to be late, to take long	Tardo media hora en llegar. It takes me half an hour to get there.
acabar de	to have just (done)	Acabo de llegar. I've just arrived.
dejar de	to stop (doing)	Dejó de fumar hace un año. He stopped smoking a year ago.
volver a	to (do) again	Volvió a llamar. She called again.
llevar	to carry, to take; to wear; llevar + time = to have been	Llevo tres horas esperando. I've been waiting for three hours.
seguir	to follow; to carry on, to still be (irreg.: sigo, siguió)	Sigue lloviendo. It's still raining.
atreverse a	to dare to	No me atrevo a decírselo. I don't dare tell him.
arrepentirse de	to regret, to be sorry for (irreg.: me arrepiento)	Me arrepiento de no haber ido. I regret not going.
empeñarse en	to insist on, to be set on	Se empeña en pagar él. He insists on paying.
negarse a	to refuse to (irreg.: me niego)	Se negó a firmar. She refused to sign.
fiarse de	to trust (me fío)	No me fío de él. I don't trust him.
enfrentarse a	to face, confront	Se enfrentó a muchos problemas. She faced many problems.
asumir	to take on, accept; to assume (power, responsibility)	Asumió la responsabilidad del error. He took responsibility for the mistake.
suponer	to suppose; to mean, to involve (irreg.: supongo, supuse)	Esto supone un gran cambio. This means a big change.
implicar	to imply, to involve; to implicate	El puesto implica viajar mucho. The job involves a lot of travelling.
plantearse	to consider, to think about	Me estoy planteando cambiar de trabajo. I'm thinking about changing jobs.
replantearse	to rethink, to reconsider	Tenemos que replantearnos el proyecto. We need to rethink the project.
madrugar	to get up early	Mañana tengo que madrugar. I have to get up early tomorrow.
trasnochar	to stay up late	No me gusta trasnochar. I don't like staying up late.
estrenar	to release, to premiere; to use for the first time	Hoy estreno zapatos. I'm wearing new shoes today.
apetecer	to feel like, fancy (me apetece = I fancy)	¿Te apetece un café? Do you fancy a coffee?

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