secar

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin siccāre.

Verb

secar (first-person singular indicative present seco, past participle secáu)

1. to dry

Conjugation

Conjugation of secar

infinitive		secar
gerund		secando
past participle		m secáu, f secada, n secao, m pl secaos, f pl secaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	seco	seques	seca	secamos	secáis	sequen
	imperfect	secaba	secabes	secaba	secábemos, secábamos	secabeis, secabais	secaben
	preterite	sequé	secasti, sequesti	secó	sequemos	secastis, sequestis	secaron
	pluperfect	secare, secara	secares, secaras	secare, secara	secáremos, secáramos	secareis, secarais	secaren, secaran
	future	secaré	secarás	secará	secaremos	secaréis	secarán
	conditional	secaría	secaríes	secaría	secaríemos, secaríamos	secaríeis, secaríais	secaríen
subjunctive	present	seque	seques, secas	seque	sequemos	sequéis	sequen, secan
	imperfect	secare, secara	secares, secaras	secare, secara	secáremos, secáramos	secareis, secarais	secaren, secaran
imperative		—	seca	—	—	secái	—

Related terms

• secu (“dry”)

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin siccāre. By surface analysis, sec +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [səˈka]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [seˈkaɾ]

Verb

secar (first-person singular present seco, first-person singular preterite sequí, past participle secat); root stress: (Central) /ɛ/; (Valencia) /e/; (Balearic) /ə/

1. alternative form of assecar (“to dry”)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of secar (first conjugation, c-qu alternation)

infinitive			secar
gerund			secant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		secat		secada
		plural		secats		secades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	seco	seques	seca	sequem	sequeu	sequen
	imperfect	secava	secaves	secava	secàvem	secàveu	secaven
	future	secaré	secaràs	secarà	secarem	secareu	secaran
	preterite	sequí	secares	secà	secàrem	secàreu	secaren
	conditional	secaria	secaries	secaria	secaríem	secaríeu	secarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sequi	sequis	sequi	sequem	sequeu	sequin
	imperfect	sequés	sequessis	sequés	sequéssim	sequéssiu	sequessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	seca	sequi	sequem	sequeu	sequin
	negative (no)	—	no sequis	no sequi	no sequem	no sequeu	no sequin

Related terms

• secada (“drought”)

Further reading

• “secar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “secar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese secar (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin siccāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seˈkaɾ/ [s̺eˈkɑɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: se‧car

Verb

secar (first-person singular present seco, first-person singular preterite sequei, past participle secado)

1. to dry

   Synonym: desecar

2. to wipe dry

   Synonym: enxugar

3. to become dry

   Synonyms: agostar, estiñar

4. to wither

   Synonym: agostar

5. (of a mammal animal) to cease to milk, to dry

   Synonym: estiñar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of secar (c-qu alternation)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	secar
Personal	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secaren
Gerund
	secando
Past participle
Masculine	secado			secados
Feminine	secada			secadas
Indicative
Present	seco	secas	seca	secamos	secades	secan
Imperfect	secaba	secabas	secaba	secabamos	secabades	secaban
Preterite	sequei	secaches	secou	secamos	secastes	secaron
Pluperfect	secara	secaras	secara	secaramos	secarades	secaran
Future	secarei	secarás	secará	secaremos	secaredes	secarán
Conditional	secaría	secarías	secaría	secariamos	secariades	secarían
Subjunctive
Present	seque	seques	seque	sequemos	sequedes	sequen
Imperfect	secase	secases	secase	secásemos	secásedes	secasen
Future	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secaren
Imperative
Affirmative		seca	seque	sequemos	secade	sequen
Negative (non)		non seques	non seque	non sequemos	non sequedes	non sequen

    Reintegrated conjugation of secar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	secar
Personal	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secarem
Gerund
	secando
Past participle
Masculine	secado			secados
Feminine	secada			secadas
Indicative
Present	seco	secas	seca	secamos	secades, secais	secam
Imperfect	secava	secavas	secava	secávamos	secávades, secáveis, secávais1	secavam
Preterite	sequei	secaste, secache1	secou	secamos	secastes	secárom, secaram
Pluperfect	secara	secaras	secara	secáramos	secárades, secáreis, secárais1	secaram
Future	secarei	secarás	secará	secaremos	secaredes, secareis	secarám, secarão
Conditional	secaria	secarias	secaria	secaríamos	secaríades, secaríeis, secaríais1	secariam
Subjunctive
Present	seque	seques	seque	sequemos	sequedes, sequeis	sequem
Imperfect	secasse	secasses	secasse	secássemos	secássedes, secásseis	secassem
Future	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secarem
Imperative
Affirmative		seca	seque	sequemos	secade, secai	sequem
Negative (nom)		nom seques	nom seque	nom sequemos	nom sequedes, nom sequeis	nom sequem

¹Less recommended.

Derived terms

• desecar
• seca
• secador
• seco
• sequeiro

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “secar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “secar”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “secar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “secar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “secar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “secar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2025
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “secar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan, from Latin siccāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

secar

1. to dry; to dry out

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		secar			aver secat
gerund		secant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		secat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	sequi	secas	seca	secam	secatz	secan
	imperfect	secavi	secavas	secava	secàvem	secàvetz	secavan
	preterite	sequèri	sequères	sequèt	sequèrem	sequèretz	sequèron
	future	secarai	secaràs	secarà	secarem	secaretz	secaràn
	conditional	secariái	secariás	secariá	secariam	secariatz	secarián
	conditional 2nd form1	sequèra	sequèras	sequèra	sequeram	sequeratz	sequèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	seque	seques	seque	sequem	sequetz	sequen
	imperfect	sequèssi	sequèsses	sequèsse	sequèssem	sequèssetz	sequèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			seca		sequem	secatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Auvernhàs

		simple			compound
infinitive		secar			aver secat
gerund		secant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		secat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	seque	seques	seca	secam	secatz	secon
	imperfect	secave	secaves	secava	secaviam	secaviatz	secavon
	preterite	sequere	sequeres	sequet	sequem	sequetz	sequeron
	future	secarai	secaràs	secará	secarem	secaretz	secarán
	conditional	secariá	secariás	secariá	secariam	secariatz	secarián
	conditional 2nd form1	sequèra	sequèras	sequèra	sequeram	sequeratz	sequèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	seque	seques	seque	secassiam	secassiatz	secon
	imperfect	sequesse	sequesses	sequesse	sequessiam	sequessiatz	sequesson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			seca		secassiam	secatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Gascon

		simple			compound
infinitive		secar			aver secat
gerund		secant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		secat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	sequi	secas	seca	secam	secatz	secan
	imperfect	secavi	secavas	secava	secàvam	secàvatz	secavan
	preterite	sequèi	sequès	sequè	sequèm	sequètz	sequèn
	future	secarèi	secaràs	secarà	secaram	secaratz	secaràn
	conditional	secarí	secarés	secaré	secarem	secaretz	secarén
	conditional 2nd form1	sequèra	sequèras	sequèra	sequeram	sequeratz	sequèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	sequi	seques	seque	sequem	sequetz	sequen
	imperfect	sequèssi	sequèsses	sequèsse	sequèssem	sequèssetz	sequèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			seca		sequem	secatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Lemosin

		simple			compound
infinitive		secar			aver secat
gerund		secant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		secat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	seque	secas	seca	secam	secatz	secan
	imperfect	secava	secavas	secava	secàvam	secàvatz	secavan
	preterite	sequei	sequeras	sequet	sequèram	sequèratz	sequeran
	future	secarai	secaràs	secará	secarem	secaretz	secarán
	conditional	secariá	secariàs	secariá	secariam	secariatz	secarián
	conditional 2nd form1	sequèra	sequèras	sequèra	sequeram	sequeratz	sequèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	seque	seques	seque	sequem	sequetz	sequen
	imperfect	sequèsse	sequèsses	sequèsse	sequèssem	sequèssetz	sequèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			seca		sequem	secatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Provençau

		simple			compound
infinitive		secar			aver secat
gerund		secant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		secat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	seque	seques	seca	secam	secatz	secan
	imperfect	secavi	secavas	secava	secàvem	secàvetz	secavan
	preterite	sequère	sequères	sequèt	sequeriam	sequeriatz	sequèron
	future	secarai	secaràs	secarà	secarem	secaretz	secaràn
	conditional	secariáu	secariás	secariá	secariam	secariatz	secarián
	conditional 2nd form1	sequèra	sequèras	sequèra	sequeram	sequeratz	sequèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	seque	seques	seque	sequem	sequetz	secan
	imperfect	sequèsse	sequèsses	sequèsse	sequessiam	sequessiatz	sequèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			seca		sequem	secatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

• assecar
• dessecar
• sec

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• seccar (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Latin siccāre, from siccus (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk-.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /seˈka(ʁ)/ [seˈka(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /seˈka(ʁ)/ [seˈka(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /seˈka(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /seˈka(ʁ)/ [seˈka(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /seˈka(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈkaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈkaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɨˈka.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: se‧car

Verb

secar (first-person singular present seco, first-person singular preterite sequei, past participle secado)

1. (intransitive) to dry (to become dry)

   Synonym: evaporar

2. (transitive) to dry (to make dry)

   Antonyms: aguar, molhar, humedecer, humidificar, humectar

   • 2022, “a cor púrpura”, performed by Djonga:

     Uma pessoa me tocou sem eu querer / E ainda me convenceu que eu gostava / Molhou com seu suor minha pele infantil / E secou minhas lágrimas sempre que eu chorava

     Someone touched me without my consent / And even convinced me that I liked it / They wet my infantile skin with their sweat / And dried my tears whenever I cried

3. to dry up (to deprive someone of something vital)
4. (intransitive) to wither (to shrivel, droop or dry up)

   Synonyms: esgotar, mirrar, murchar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of secar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	secar
Personal	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secarem
Gerund
	secando
Past participle
Masculine	secado			secados
Feminine	secada			secadas
Indicative
Present	seco	secas	seca	secamos	secais	secam
Imperfect	secava	secavas	secava	secávamos	secáveis	secavam
Preterite	sequei	secaste	secou	secamos1, secámos2	secastes	secaram
Pluperfect	secara	secaras	secara	secáramos	secáreis	secaram
Future	secarei	secarás	secará	secaremos	secareis	secarão
Conditional	secaria	secarias	secaria	secaríamos	secaríeis	secariam
Subjunctive
Present	seque	seques	seque	sequemos	sequeis	sequem
Imperfect	secasse	secasses	secasse	secássemos	secásseis	secassem
Future	secar	secares	secar	secarmos	secardes	secarem
Imperative
Affirmative		seca	seque	sequemos	secai	sequem
Negative (não)		não seques	não seque	não sequemos	não sequeis	não sequem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Related terms

• desecar
• seca
• secador
• seco

See also

• enxugar

Further reading

• “secar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “secar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin siccāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seˈkaɾ/ [seˈkaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: se‧car

Verb

secar (first-person singular present seco, first-person singular preterite sequé, past participle secado)

1. (transitive, reflexive) to dry
2. (reflexive) to dry up, run dry
   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 164:

     Para que vuelva la leche a la mujer a la cual se le ha secado, o para que aumente en la que ha disminuído, se le da a beber una tisana hecha con tres palitos de higuero, que como es árbol que tiene leche, obra eficazmente en estos casos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of secar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			secar
gerund			secando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		secado		secada
		plural		secados		secadas
		singular			plural
		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	seco	secastú secásvos	seca	secamos	secáis	secan
	imperfect	secaba	secabas	secaba	secábamos	secabais	secaban
	preterite	sequé	secaste	secó	secamos	secasteis	secaron
	future	secaré	secarás	secará	secaremos	secaréis	secarán
	conditional	secaría	secarías	secaría	secaríamos	secaríais	secarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	seque	sequestú sequésvos2	seque	sequemos	sequéis	sequen
	imperfect (ra)	secara	secaras	secara	secáramos	secarais	secaran
	imperfect (se)	secase	secases	secase	secásemos	secaseis	secasen
	future1	secare	secares	secare	secáremos	secareis	secaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		secatú secávos	seque	sequemos	secad	sequen
	negative		no seques	no seque	no sequemos	no sequéis	no sequen

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

    Selected combined forms of secar (c-qu alternation)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive secar	dative	secarme	secarte	secarle, secarse	secarnos	secaros	secarles, secarse
	accusative	secarme	secarte	secarlo, secarla, secarse	secarnos	secaros	secarlos, secarlas, secarse
with gerund secando	dative	secándome	secándote	secándole, secándose	secándonos	secándoos	secándoles, secándose
	accusative	secándome	secándote	secándolo, secándola, secándose	secándonos	secándoos	secándolos, secándolas, secándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative seca	dative	sécame	sécate	sécale	sécanos	not used	sécales
	accusative	sécame	sécate	sécalo, sécala	sécanos	not used	sécalos, sécalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative secá	dative	secame	secate	secale	secanos	not used	secales
	accusative	secame	secate	secalo, secala	secanos	not used	secalos, secalas
with formal second-person singular imperative seque	dative	séqueme	not used	séquele, séquese	séquenos	not used	séqueles
	accusative	séqueme	not used	séquelo, séquela, séquese	séquenos	not used	séquelos, séquelas
with first-person plural imperative sequemos	dative	not used	sequémoste	sequémosle	sequémonos	sequémoos	sequémosles
	accusative	not used	sequémoste	sequémoslo, sequémosla	sequémonos	sequémoos	sequémoslos, sequémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative secad	dative	secadme	not used	secadle	secadnos	secaos	secadles
	accusative	secadme	not used	secadlo, secadla	secadnos	secaos	secadlos, secadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative sequen	dative	séquenme	not used	séquenle	séquennos	not used	séquenles, séquense
	accusative	séquenme	not used	séquenlo, séquenla	séquennos	not used	séquenlos, séquenlas, séquense

Derived terms

• resecar
• secadero
• secado
• secador
• secadora
• secamanos
• secamente
• secamiento
• secano
• secante
• secaplatos
• secarropas
• sequía

Related terms

• desecar
• ensecar
• seco

See also

• enjugar

Further reading

• “secar”, 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