destellar

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin dēstillāre (“to distil, trickle”). Compare the borrowed doublet destilar.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /desteˈʝaɾ/ [d̪es.t̪eˈʝaɾ] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
IPA^(key): /desteˈʎaɾ/ [d̪es.t̪eˈʎaɾ] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
IPA^(key): /desteˈʃaɾ/ [d̪es.t̪eˈʃaɾ] (Buenos Aires and environs)
IPA^(key): /desteˈʒaɾ/ [d̪es.t̪eˈʒaɾ] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Rhymes: -aɾ
Syllabification: des‧te‧llar

Verb

destellar (first-person singular present destello, first-person singular preterite destellé, past participle destellado)

to sparkle, twinkle
Synonym: titilar

Conjugation

Conjugation of destellar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			destellar
gerund			destellando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		destellado		destellada
		plural		destellados		destelladas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	destello	destellas^{^tú} destellás^{^vos}	destella	destellamos	destelláis	destellan
	imperfect	destellaba	destellabas	destellaba	destellábamos	destellabais	destellaban
	preterite	destellé	destellaste	destelló	destellamos	destellasteis	destellaron
	future	destellaré	destellarás	destellará	destellaremos	destellaréis	destellarán
	conditional	destellaría	destellarías	destellaría	destellaríamos	destellaríais	destellarían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	destelle	destelles^{^tú} destellés^{^vos²}	destelle	destellemos	destelléis	destellen
	imperfect (ra)	destellara	destellaras	destellara	destelláramos	destellarais	destellaran
	imperfect (se)	destellase	destellases	destellase	destellásemos	destellaseis	destellasen
	future¹	destellare	destellares	destellare	destelláremos	destellareis	destellaren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		destella^{^tú} destellá^{^vos}	destelle	destellemos	destellad	destellen
	negative		no destelles	no destelle	no destellemos	no destelléis	no destellen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

Derived terms

destello

Further reading

“destellar”, 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