acariciar

From a- +‎ carícia +‎ -ar.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.kə.ɾi.siˈa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.ka.ɾi.siˈaɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Homophone: acaricià
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

acariciar (first-person singular present acaricio, first-person singular preterite acaricií, past participle acariciat)

1. to caress
2. to stroke, pet

From a- +‎ carícia +‎ -ar.

• Hyphenation: a‧ca‧ri‧ci‧ar

acariciar (first-person singular present acaricio, first-person singular preterite acariciei, past participle acariciado)

1. (transitive) to stroke (to move one's hand or an object over the surface of)
2. (transitive) to pet (fondle (an animal))
3. (transitive) to pet (fondle (another person) amorously)
4. (transitive) to caress (touch or kiss lovingly)

• “acariciar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “acariciar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• cariciar (rare or archaic)

From a- +‎ caricia +‎ -ar.

• IPA^(key): /akaɾiˈθjaɾ/ [a.ka.ɾiˈθjaɾ] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA^(key): /akaɾiˈsjaɾ/ [a.ka.ɾiˈsjaɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧ca‧ri‧ciar

acariciar (first-person singular present acaricio, first-person singular preterite acaricié, past participle acariciado)

1. to caress

   Synonyms: hacer cariño, regalonear

2. to fondle
3. to stroke
4. to pet

• “acariciar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025