zozobra

See also: zozobrá

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θoˈθobɾa/ [θoˈθo.β̞ɾa]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /soˈsobɾa/ [soˈso.β̞ɾa]
• Rhymes: -obɾa
• Syllabification: zo‧zo‧bra

Etymology 1

Deverbal from zozobrar, or borrowed from Old Catalan sotsobre, from sots sobre; cf. modern Catalan sotsobrar (“to capsize”).

Noun

zozobra f (plural zozobras)

1. capsizing
2. roll of the dice, throw of the dice
3. anxiety; worry

   Synonyms: ansiedad, preocupación

   • 2020 June 28, Rosa Montero, “Más brutos y no nacemos”, in El País‎^[1], Madrid, →ISSN:

     En la zozobra de la plaga, la gente más débil no soporta la evidencia de nuestra absoluta fragilidad: una birria de virus que ni siquiera alcanzamos a ver es capaz de tumbarnos.

     In the anxiety of the plague, the weakest people cannot bear the proof of our complete fragility: a virus that we cannot even see is capable of taking us down.

   • 2023 May 16, Arnaldo Otegi, quotee, “Los siete exetarras de las listas de Bildu con delitos de sangre renuncian a ser concejales”, in El País‎^[2]:

     Otegi reafirma la apuesta “por vías exclusivamente pacíficas y democráticas” y dice: “Debemos avanzar hacia el futuro y no generar zozobra”

     Otegi reaffirms the commitment "only through peaceful and democratic ways" and says: "We must move towards the future and not generate anxiety'

Etymology 2

Verb

zozobra

1. inflection of zozobrar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “zozobra”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28