tornar

Senses

1. 1.

   to become; to turn into

   change of state or condition

2. 2.

   to return; to come back

   return to a place or previous state

3. 3.

   to make; to render

   to cause something to be in a particular state (formal/literary)

4. 4.

   to do again; to repeat

   perform an action once more (with 'tornar a + infinitive')

Examples

• "A situação se tornou muito complicada."

  The situation became very complicated.

• "Ele tornou ao Brasil após cinco anos."

  He returned to Brazil after five years.

• "Aquele livro tornou-se um clássico da literatura."

  That book became a classic of literature.

Usage

In modern Brazilian Portuguese, "tornar-se" (reflexive form) is more common than the transitive "tornar" for the sense of "becoming" or "turning into." The phrase "tornar a + infinitive" means "to do something again." Register: standard, neither formal nor colloquial.