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verspielen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
verspielen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
verspielen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German verspiln. Analyzable as ver- + spielen. In the sense of “to squander” reinforced by and merged with unrelated Middle Low German verspillen, verspilden (“to waste”). Compare Dutch verspillen.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlən/, /fɐ-/, ,
Verb
verspielen (weak, third-person singular present verspielt, past tense verspielte, past participle verspielt, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to gamble something away (lose something in a game)
Spielsüchtige verspielen oft an einem Tag ganze Monatslöhne.- Compulsive gamblers often gamble away entire monthly wages in one day.
- (transitive) to lose something lightly; to squander; to waste
Er hat sein ganzes Erbe mit teuren Partys verspielt.- He squandered his whole inheritance on expensive parties.
Durch den Einmarsch in Afghanistan verspielten die USA leichtfertig ihre moralische Vorteilslage.- By invading Afghanistan the US lightly wasted its moral high ground.
- (intransitive, chiefly in the perfect tenses) to lose someone’s goodwill
- Er hat bei ihr verspielt. ― He is out of favour with her.
- (reflexive) to make a mistake at playing (e.g. play a wrong note on a music instrument)
An dieser Stelle verspiele ich mich immer.- I always play it wrong at this point.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
verspielen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
verspielen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Further reading