Desquitar?

Question

Our dictionary list desquitar as "To retrieve a loss" that doesn't make sense in the context I heard it, and I'm having trouble finding examples of google that make sense in that context too.

"necesito desquitar la opresión de mi hermana" "necesito desquitar mis sentimientos con alguien" "necesito desquitar la falta" "necesito desquitar mi frustración ".

Seems like all the feelings are bad so why would you want to get them back or "retrieve" them? It seems more like "I need to get rid of" like "necesito desprenderme de mis sentimientos" etc...... Gracias.

Answer 1

desquitar.

1. tr. Particularmente en el juego, reintegrarse de lo perdido, restaurar una pérdida. U. t. c. prnl.

2. tr. descontar.

3. tr. Tomar satisfacción, vengar una ofensa, daño o derrota. U. t. c. prnl.

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Answer 2

Interesting you should ask this. I am reading a book by Laura Bolaños, and forms of "desquitar" and "desquitarse" come up often.

Depending on context, it can mean "to take revenge", "to take as compensation", also "to get even". Once again, totally depending on context, it could take on a feeling of anything from revenge to "charging something to someone else's account", in a figurative sense.

I think "descontar" (lessen, abate, diminish) fits the contexts that he provides. - 0074b507, Jan 6, 2011

Answer 3

So does it immediatly imply "against"? like "I need to get revenge against the oppression of my sister" or "I need to get revenge against my feelings with someone"? I still don't get it based on those examples. Gracias.

Well, in the book I am reading it carries that general feeling of somehow getting even, or getting rid of something negative. - mountaingirl123, Jan 6, 2011