descongelación
/deskonxelaθjon/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'defrosting' is translated into Spanish as descongelación.
The term refers to the process of removing frost or ice from something by warming it.
Which one should you use?
descongelamiento serves as a formal synonym for the process of defrosting.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun descongelación is derived from the verb descongelar, which means 'to defrost'. If you wish to describe something that has already undergone the process, use the past participle descongelado as an adjective to mean 'defrosted'.
How do you pronounce it?
/deskonxelaθjon/
Did you know?
- In a diplomatic context, descongelación is used to describe the 'thawing' of relations between two hostile nations.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, you might hear people use the verb descongelar metaphorically to describe a person who has finally 'thawed out' or become friendly after being cold and distant.
- The root word gelar is related to the English word 'gel', which refers to a substance that has become semi-solid, much like the state of something being frozen.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuál es la mejor manera de realizar la descongelación de alimentos?What is the best way to perform food defrosting?
- Necesito descongelar la carne para preparar la cenaI need to defrost the meat to prepare dinner
- Para descongelar los vegetales congelados, déjalos en el refrigerador durante la nocheTo defrost frozen vegetables, leave them in the refrigerator overnight
- Recuerda descongelar el pollo antes de cocinarloRemember to defrost the chicken before cooking it
- Voy a descongelar el pescado antes de marinarloI'm going to defrost the fish before marinating it
- Puedes acelerar el descongelamiento utilizando el modo de descongelar del microondasYou can speed up the defrosting process by using the microwave's defrost mode
- La descongelación de la carne toma tiempo.The defrosting of the meat takes time.
- Espera a la descongelación total del pescado.Wait for the total defrosting of the fish.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are preparing dinner together in the kitchen.
- DanielSofía, ¿ya empezaste la descongelación del pollo?Sofía, did you start defrosting the chicken yet?
- SofíaNo, Daniel, lo olvidé por completo.No, Daniel, I completely forgot.
- DanielPonlo en el microondas ahora mismo.Put it in the microwave right now.
- SofíaEstá bien, lo hago enseguida.Okay, I'll do it right away.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry descongelación, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries descongelación, CC BY-SA 4.0.
