Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
prepotente, imponente
English translation:
arrogant and imposing
Spanish term
Spain
Native in: English 
, Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, Latin to English, and 4 more.
prepotente, imponente
Please, let's consider this text:
"El guardaespaldas era un tío alto, corpulento y con una mirada que te traspasaba el cuerpo. ¡Vamos, que era imponente! Y como él lo sabía, no vacilaba en hacer uso de la fuerza cuando le daba la gana. Es que no se lo pensaba dos veces. Cuando lo molestabas, te arreaba una torta. Y así siempre. Torta va, torta viene, a diestro y siniestro, sin previo aviso. Era un hombre prepotente por naturaleza."
How do you translate "imponente" and "prepotente" into English?
Thank you!
Dec 15, 2008 11:15: patinba Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): Carol Gullidge
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Proposed translations
arrogant and imposing
| Thank you! But, please, note what the DRAE says about "prepotente": prepotente. (Del lat. praepŏtens, -entis). 1. adj. Más poderoso que otros, o muy poderoso. U. t. c. s. 2. adj. Que abusa de su poder o hace alarde de él. U. t. c. s. The word "arrogante" exists in Spanish. It means the same as "arrogant". "Arrogante" doesn't mean "prepotente". |
| agree |
Jessica Agullo (X)
: arrogant is right on. Imposing could be intimidating too.
1 min
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Thanks Jessica. Intimidating is probably better, as it conveys more menace.
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| agree |
Kate Major Patience
: You got there first! :)// Jessica's comment is spot on: intimidating would work well here.
1 min
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Sorry about that! Thanks, Kate! I agree.
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| agree |
Laura T.
2 mins
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Gracias, Laura
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| agree |
Remy Arce
5 mins
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Thanks, Remy!
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| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: However, can't help thinking that this is all just basic dictionary work...//True - with literature, it's not always totally straightforward
26 mins
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Thanks Carol! True (and I still can't see the difference between pro and non pro) but askers sometime need help with nuances.
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| agree |
jude dabo
: good
56 mins
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Thanks Jude!
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| agree |
Daltry Gárate
1 hr
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Thanks, Daltry!
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Spain
Especialista de marketing
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, Catalan to English
arrogant / impressive
| disagree |
Marjory Hord
: impressive is usually used in a positive light. Imponente, here, is negative, like imposing.
45 mins
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Monsters can be impressive/awesome - doesn´t mean you like them! The guy is tall and burly - impressive. Doesn´t deserve a Disagree in my book.
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| disagree |
jude dabo
: imposing is not in any way synonymous with impressive.Not correct!Disagreed with Carol's nuetral comment and offcourse your answer.
56 mins
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Hey Jude - what are you talking about? I didn´t say they were synonyms. Please retract your Disagree unless you can make clear what you are disagreeing with!
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Carol Gullidge
: my guess is that the writer has his tongue in his cheek, so this could well be an ironic use
1 hr
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Cheers Carol!
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| agree |
Erin DeBell
: It is ridiculous to disagree with this answer. It is not always about finding the exact word; sometimes we have to find different words that fit the context. I agree with Carol. Saying, "he sure was impressive" sounds fine and natural.
7 hrs
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Spain
Communication has never been easier...
Native in: Spanish , French
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Japanese to Spanish
imposing presence // arrogant, overbearing, high-handed
prepotente = en este caso yo utilizaria mejor high-handed, porque se trata mas bien de una actitud y diria algo asi como "he had a high-handed attitude by nature" (pero es solo una opcion, arrogant o overbearing no estarian mal tampoco... aunque arrogante y prepotente tampoco son exactamente lo mismo, es una diferencia muy sutil y por ende eligiria en este caso high-handed)
Para mas informacion ver:
Diccionario Espasa Concise © 2000 Espasa Calpe
Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press
| agree |
patinba
: De acurdo contigo y con Raúl en cuanto a la diferencia entre arrogante y prepotente, aunque "arrogant behaviour" tiene implícito ese abuso de poder.
21 mins
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Muchas gracias!
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United Kingdom
THE BEST ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
terrifying / overbearing
y prepotente seria mejor como 'overbearing' o 'domineering'
Spain
Analytical and creative (DipTrans, MA)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Galician to English, English
arrogant/overbearing, imposing
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Note added at 31 mins (2008-12-01 16:25:00 GMT)
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NOTE: In this context perhaps you want "intimidating" and "a natural bully". HTH.
United States
Technical and Practical Expertise
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English, English to Spanish
overbearing/powerful & impressive/intimidating
Also, in the first case, "Boy, was he impressive!" would work, as mentioned in other answers, or a more straightforward, "Boy, was he intimidating!" Just my two cents.
Australia
a bully
Bully - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia6 Oct 2008 ... Look up bully in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Bully beef, canned meat given to soldiers in World War II; Bullyland, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully - 19k
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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-12-01 22:24:21 GMT)
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Bullying - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBullying is the act of intentionally causing harm to others, through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion such as ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying - 63k
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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-12-01 22:25:00 GMT)
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Disregard the first definition the second one is the one I meant to include.
Discussion
"Imponente" can infer a positive connotation in other contexts and texts, but not here.
I hadn't realised that imponente had negative connotations, Marjory, but "imposing" certainly doesn't. However, Either "impressive" or "imposing" could be used ironically here, as I guess the speaker at this point has his tongue in his cheek
(to Marjory) imposing is also a positive attribute in EN, meaning impressive. Looking imposing is pretty synonymous with looking impressive. Well, perhaps not an exact synonym, but there's nothing negative about looking imposing in English