Cercenar

Cercenar is a Spanish verb that means to cut off or sever something, either literally by physical removal or figuratively by reducing or curtailing. It can refer to cutting off a part of the body, as well as to limiting or truncating rights, resources, or opportunities.

Literal usage describes the act of severing or amputating a part of the body. For example, a report might say that an accident cercenó a hand or arm, emphasizing a physical loss. The term is strongest in formal or clinical contexts when describing injuries or mutilation, and in historical or literary prose it may be used to convey drastic violence or consequence.

Figurative usage tends to appear in discussions of policy, economics, or civil life. Cercenar rights, liberties, or freedoms denotes curtailing them; cercenar presupuesto or cercenar gastos indicates reducing spending; cercenar oportunidades or growth signals a narrowing of prospects. In journalistic and political writing, cercenar is often chosen for a precise, forceful sense of drastic reduction or suppression.

Grammar and usage notes: cercenar is a transitive verb and requires a direct object (cercenar algo). It is conjugated as a regular -ar verb: present cerceno, cercenas, cercena, cercenamos, cercenáis, cercenan; preterite cercené, cercenaste, cercenó, cercenamos, cercenasteis, cercenaron; imperfect cercenaba, cercenabas, cercenaba, cercenábamos, cercenabais, cercenaban; gerund cercenando; participle cercenado. Common synonyms include cortar, amputar, truncar, reducir, limitar; antonyms include conservar, mantener, ampliar.

See also: formas relacionadas de limitar o recortar el alcance de algo.