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resaltar

rre-sal-TAR/resalˈtaɾ/

“resaltar” means “to stand out” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:

to stand out

Also: to be prominent, to project
VerbB1regular ar
A single bright yellow flower standing taller than a field of dark green grass.
gerundresaltando
past Participleresaltado
infinitiveresaltar

📝 In Action

Sus ojos azules resaltan mucho con esa camisa.

A2

Her blue eyes stand out a lot with that shirt.

Las montañas resaltan contra el cielo despejado.

B1

The mountains stand out against the clear sky.

Había un detalle en la pintura que resaltaba sobre los demás.

B2

There was a detail in the painting that stood out above the others.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • ocultarse (to hide)
  • camuflarse (to blend in)

Common Collocations

  • resaltar entre la multitud – to stand out in the crowd
  • resaltar contra el fondo – to stand out against the background

to emphasize

Also: to highlight, to stress
VerbB2regular ar
Latin America
A hand using a bright neon yellow marker to draw a thick line over a specific drawing of a star among many circles.
gerundresaltando
past Participleresaltado
infinitiveresaltar

📝 In Action

El profesor resaltó los errores más comunes.

B1

The teacher highlighted the most common mistakes.

Quiero resaltar que esta es una oportunidad única.

B2

I want to emphasize that this is a unique opportunity.

Puedes usar negrita para resaltar las palabras clave.

B1

You can use bold to highlight the keywords.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • resaltar la importancia de – to highlight the importance of
  • resaltar con color – to highlight with color

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesresaltaran
yoresaltara
túresaltaras
vosotrosresaltarais
nosotrosresaltáramos
él/ella/ustedresaltara

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesresalten
yoresalte
túresaltes
vosotrosresaltéis
nosotrosresaltemos
él/ella/ustedresalte

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesresaltaron
yoresalté
túresaltaste
vosotrosresaltasteis
nosotrosresaltamos
él/ella/ustedresaltó

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesresaltaban
yoresaltaba
túresaltabas
vosotrosresaltabais
nosotrosresaltábamos
él/ella/ustedresaltaba

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesresaltan
yoresalto
túresaltas
vosotrosresaltáis
nosotrosresaltamos
él/ella/ustedresalta
View All Tenses & Moods →

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "resaltar" in Spanish:

to emphasize→to highlight→to project→to stress→

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: resaltar

Question 1 of 3

Which sentence means 'The bright colors stand out'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
resaltador(highlighter marker) — Noun
resalte(relief or projection) — Noun
saltar(to jump) — Verb
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

From the Latin 'saltare' (to jump) with the prefix 're-' (again/back). It originally meant 'to jump back' or 'to bounce,' which evolved into 'to jump out visually' or 'to stand out.'

First recorded: 15th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: resultFrench: ressauter

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'resaltar' the same as 'destacar'?

Yes, they are almost always interchangeable when you mean 'to stand out' or 'to emphasize.' 'Destacar' is slightly more common in journalism.

Can I use 'resaltar' for sounds?

Generally, no. We use 'resaltar' for things you see or ideas you point out. For sounds, we use 'sobresalir' or just say a sound is 'fuerte' (strong).

Is this verb irregular?

No! It follows the standard pattern for all verbs ending in -ar. If you know how to conjugate 'hablar,' you know how to conjugate 'resaltar.'