The word gratificante in Italian can translate as rewarding, gratifying, satisfying or fulfilling. It is almost always used in reference to a job, activity or relationship that provides satisfaction and pleasure. Learn with our video Gratificante comes from the verb gratificare meaning to be rewarding or to be gratifying, but also to compensate when talking …
The adjective stonato comes from the verb stonare which means to sing / play out of tune. The feminine equivalent is stonata and their respective plurals are stonati and stonate. Stonato can be used to describe a naturally tone-deaf person, a professional singer whose voice is off-key or flat for some reason, or a musical …
The Italian adjective affascinante, which can translate in a number of ways including fascinating and attractive, comes from the verb affascinare meaning to fascinate. Learn about ‘affascinante’ with our video The singular form is always affascinante and the plural form is always affascinanti regardless of the gender of the subject. When used to describe a …
Balordo is one of those fun Italian adjectives that you will rarely see in a textbook, but comes up all the time in casual conversation between native speakers. Its etymological origin has not been confirmed. It may derive from the French balourd, which in turn comes from the ancient French beslourd. Learn with our video …
The adjective sfasato in Italian, which derives from the verb sfasare (to dephase), is used in technical terms to mean out of phase mainly in reference to motors and electrical currents. Learn with our video What should be of interest to most learners of Italian isn’t so much the technical but rather the figurative meaning …
The adjective pignolo (also written as pignuolo in rare cases) in Italian is used to describe someone who is fussy, pedantic or extremely meticulous in nature. Learn with our video It derives from the word pigna (pine cone), but precisely how it came to denote a fussy person is uncertain. According to Treccani, this figurative …