apoyar
verbCEFR B2
What does “apoyar” mean in English?
to support, to back
to support, to back (la evidencia apoya la tesis de que — evidence or data lending weight to a claim; apoyar is less formal than respaldar and more frequent in academic writing)
Example sentences
La evidencia empírica apoya la tesis de que la transparencia institucional reduce los índices de corrupción.
The empirical evidence supports the thesis that institutional transparency reduces corruption rates.
Me apoyo en los datos del informe de la OMS para sostener que la situación es más grave de lo que se reconoce oficialmente.
I base my argument on the WHO report data to maintain that the situation is more serious than is officially acknowledged.
How to use it
Apoyar means 'to support', 'to back', 'to endorse'. In debate contexts it covers two distinct moves: (1) Apoyar una propuesta/postura — to endorse, to be in favour of (expressing agreement or solidarity with a position). (2) Apoyar con evidencia — to support a claim by backing it with evidence or reasoning. The frame is 'apoyar + noun object'. Note the distinction from 'respaldar': apoyar is broader (can be emotional, political, or evidential support); respaldar is specifically evidential backing that lends credibility. Also: 'apoyarse en' (reflexive + en) means 'to base one's argument on', 'to rely on' — a key academic frame.
Common mistake
Apoyar (general support/endorsement) vs respaldar (specifically evidential backing that makes a claim credible). The reflexive 'apoyarse en' (to base one's argument on / to lean on a source) is a separate and important frame at B2 that English speakers often miss — they default to 'basarse en', which is synonymous but apoyarse en sounds more rhetorically confident.