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avvicendare

to alternate, to rotate

verb ahv-vee-chen-DAH-reh Rare
People & Society Work

Also means

to succeed one another

Usage Note

Avvicendare means to rotate people or things in sequence, often in work shifts or political posts (avvicendare i turni, 'to rotate shifts'). The reflexive avvicendarsi is very common: i governi si avvicendano ('governments succeed one another'). It takes avere when transitive and essere when reflexive.

Examples

"I turni si avvicendano ogni otto ore."

Natural Translation

The shifts rotate every eight hours.

Literal Translation

The shifts themselves alternate every eight hours.

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