operare

operate

verb oh-peh-RAH-reh Less Common

Origin: from Latin operari

Also means

act

Usage Note

Operare means both to perform surgery (operare un paziente) and, more broadly, to act or function. In its surgical sense it's often passive: è stato operato al ginocchio ('he was operated on his knee').

Examples

"Il chirurgo lo opera domani."

Natural Translation

The surgeon operates on him tomorrow.

Literal Translation

The surgeon him operates tomorrow.

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