megkíméli

Megkíméli is a Hungarian verb form, the third person singular present indicative of megkímél. It means to spare someone from something, to save someone from trouble or harm, or to conserve resources by avoiding waste. The root kímél carries senses of sparing, showing mercy, or being economical, and the prefix meg- adds emphasis and a sense of completing the action, producing a typically perfective nuance.

In use, megkímélni is constructed with a person or thing being spared and, depending on the meaning, a phrase indicating what is avoided or what is spared from. Common constructions include valakit valamitől (to spare someone from something) and, in the reflexive sense, megkíméli magától valamit (to spare oneself from something). The sense can also extend metaphorically to sparing someone from unpleasant experiences or from waste, harm, or unnecessary trouble. Examples include: A doktor megkíméli a beteget a felesleges vizsgálatoktól. (The doctor spares the patient from unnecessary tests.) A vállalat megkíméli a költségvetést a pazarlástól. (The company spares the budget from waste.) Megkíméli magát a további szenvedéstől. (He spares himself from further suffering.)

Etymology and related forms: megkímél is built from kímél with the prefix meg-, a common way to form perfective or intensified verbs in Hungarian. Related terms include the base megkímél, the noun megkímélés (spare, sparing), and the verb kímél (to spare or to be sparing).

See also: kímél, meg- prefix, megkímélés.