accionaban

Accionaban is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb accionar, meaning to activate, operate, or trigger a device or process. The term also appears in legal language to refer to bringing a legal action against someone, though in most technical or everyday contexts it concerns making a mechanism or system function.

Etymology and usage explain that accionar derives from acción (action) with the common Spanish verb-forming suffix -ar. It is a regular -ar verb, used across various disciplines to describe causing something to start working or to respond to a signal. In mechanical and industrial settings it often appears in phrases like “los sensores accionaban la alarma,” meaning the sensors activated the alarm. In everyday language one might say “accionar un interruptor” to mean turning on a light or starting a machine.

In legal contexts, accionar can mean to initiate a lawsuit or other action against a person or entity—often rendered as “interponer una acción.” This use highlights the broader sense of causing an official procedure to begin. The imperfect form accionaban therefore can describe past ongoing or habitual actions, such as in narratives: “En la primera década del siglo, las autoridades accionaban múltiples demandas” (in that period, authorities filed several lawsuits).

Summary: accionaban is the imperfect plural form of accionar, a versatile Spanish verb used to describe triggering or activating mechanisms, as well as initiating legal actions, with standard conjugation patterns for -ar verbs.