avacalhar

Senses

1. 1.

   to mess up, to ruin

   to damage or spoil something, make a mess of

2. 2.

   to mock, to make fun of

   to ridicule or tease someone, often disrespectfully

3. 3.

   to disrespect, to treat carelessly

   to show lack of respect or seriousness toward something or someone

Examples

• "Ele avacalhou o projeto com tantas mudanças de última hora."

  He messed up the project with so many last-minute changes.

• "Não gosto quando meus amigos avacalham meu time de futebol."

  I don't like it when my friends make fun of my soccer team.

• "O governo avacalhou a educação pública no país."

  The government ruined public education in the country.

Usage

Informal/colloquial verb commonly used in Brazilian Portuguese. Often implies a combination of ruining something AND showing disrespect or lack of seriousness. Derived from "vaca" (cow), suggesting treating something as worthless. Can be used reflexively (avacalhar-se) meaning to degrade oneself or lose dignity.