arginare

to contain

verb ahr-jee-NAH-reh Rare

Origin: From 'argine' (embankment, levee) — to build a dike against.

Also means

to hold back

Usage Note

Arginare uses the auxiliary avere and literally means to embank a river — to build or reinforce a levee. Figuratively, and very commonly, it means to contain, limit, or check something unwanted: arginare i costi (to contain costs), arginare un'epidemia (to contain an epidemic). The related noun argine (m) means embankment or dike.

Examples

"Il governo tenta di arginare l'inflazione."

Natural Translation

The government is trying to contain inflation.

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