gelar

Senses

1. 1.

   to freeze, to chill

   To make something very cold or frozen

2. 2.

   to freeze (up)

   To become paralyzed or stuck due to fear, nervousness, or surprise

3. 3.

   to give someone the cold shoulder

   To ignore or treat someone coldly (colloquial)

Examples

• "Vou gelar a cerveja antes dos convidados chegarem."

  I'm going to chill the beer before the guests arrive.

• "Gelei na hora da apresentação e esqueci tudo que ia falar."

  I froze during the presentation and forgot everything I was going to say.

• "Esse calor está insuportável, preciso de algo gelado!"

  This heat is unbearable, I need something ice-cold!

Usage

Common in informal Brazilian Portuguese. Often used with beverages (gelar a cerveja, gelar o refrigerante). The figurative sense of "freezing up" due to nervousness is very colloquial. The adjective form "gelado/a" (cold, frozen) is more common than the verb in some contexts.