soportar

Soportar is a Spanish verb with senses related to bearing, enduring, or tolerating something or someone. It is used transitively to mean bearing a physical load or tolerating a situation, as in soportar un peso, soportar una molestia, or soportar una crítica. It can also express emotional endurance, as in no puedo soportar el calor or no puedo soportar a esa persona. In some contexts, it conveys lasting endurance under pressure.

With physical objects, soportar often coexists with sostener; however, sostener more directly conveys supporting or holding up a structure, while soportar emphasizes the capacity to endure or tolerate a condition or burden. The verb also appears in expressions about liking or disliking someone, such as no puedo soportar a alguien.

Conjugation: soportar follows regular -ar verb patterns. Present: yo soporto, tú soportas, él soporta, nosotros soportamos, vosotros soportáis, ellos soportan. Preterite: soporté, soportaste, soportó, soportamos, soportasteis, soportaron. Imperfect: soportaba, soportabas, soportaba, soportábamos, soportabais, soportaban. Subjunctive: soporte, soportes, soporte, soportemos, soportéis, soporten. Imperative: soporta, soporte, soportemos, soportad, soporten.

Etymology: from Latin supportare, via Old Spanish, related to other Romance languages such as Portuguese suportar and Italian sopportare. The sense of bearing weight or enduring developed from the physical meaning to broader figurative uses in everyday Spanish.

See also: synonyms include aguantar, tolerar, sostener, resistir.