rallentare

to slow down

verb rahl-len-TAH-reh Less Common

Also means

to reduce speed

Usage Note

Rallentare doubles the l — keep both in writing and hold the sound in speech: ral-len-TAH-reh. It can be transitive (rallentare il passo = to slow one's step) or intransitive (il treno rallenta = the train slows down). The related noun is rallentamento.

Examples

"Il traffico mi ha fatto rallentare."

Natural Translation

The traffic made me slow down.

Literal Translation

The traffic me has made to-slow-down.

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