empoderar
verbCEFR B2
What does “empoderar” mean in English?
to empower
to empower (to give agency and capacity to act independently; social policy and development register)
Example sentences
El objetivo de la ONG es empoderar a las mujeres rurales para que puedan acceder al mercado laboral en igualdad de condiciones.
The NGO's objective is to empower rural women so that they can access the labour market on equal terms.
La educación financiera es una herramienta fundamental para empoderar a los jóvenes ante el sistema económico.
Financial education is a fundamental tool for empowering young people to navigate the economic system.
El programa ha contribuido a empoderar a las comunidades indígenas en la gestión de sus propios recursos.
The programme has contributed to empowering indigenous communities to manage their own resources.
How to use it
Empoderar means 'to empower' — to give someone the agency, tools, or confidence to act for themselves. It is a relatively recent borrowing into Spanish from English, common in social policy, development, and gender discourse: empoderar a las mujeres, empoderar a las comunidades. It always takes a direct object (the group being empowered) and often a para-infinitive clause (what they are empowered to do). The noun is el empoderamiento. Some purists prefer fortalecer or capacitar, but empoderar is now standard at B2 in formal and journalistic registers.
Common mistake
Empoderar always requires a direct object — you empower someone, not something abstract. Don't use it without the personal 'a': *empoderar las comunidades — correct form is empoderar a las comunidades. Some Spanish speakers find the word too anglicised; capacitar (to train/equip), fortalecer (to strengthen), or dar autonomía are acceptable alternatives in academic writing.