Meaning
to brake
- to brake, to slow down
- to hold back, to curb, to restrain
In a sentence
Ho frenato subito perché il semaforo era rosso.
I braked right away because the light was red.
Non riesco a frenare la mia voglia di ridere.
I can't hold back my urge to laugh.
Puoi frenare un attimo? Stai andando troppo veloce.
Can you slow down for a moment? You're going too fast.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| frenare | infinitive |
| freniamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| freno | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| frenate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| freni | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| frenano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| frena | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| frenavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| frenavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| frenavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| frenavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| frenavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| frenava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| frenammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| frenai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| frenaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| frenasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| frenarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| frenò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| freneremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| frenerò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| frenerete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| frenerai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| freneranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| frenerà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| freniamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| freni | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| freniate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| freni | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| frenino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| freni | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| frenassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| frenassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| frenaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| frenassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| frenassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| frenasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| freneremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| frenerei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| frenereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| freneresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| frenerebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| frenerebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| freniamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| frenate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| frena | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| frenando | gerund |
| frenato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use frenare for vehicles; for stopping in general, fermare/arrestare is often more natural.
- Figuratively, frenare is common with emotions or impulses: frenare l'entusiasmo, frenare gli istinti.
- As an intransitive motion verb, it usually takes avere in compound tenses: ho frenato all'ultimo momento.