🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

defensor del pueblo

Pronunciation / Transliteration: de-fen-ˈsor del ˈpwe-blo

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Ombudsman/ˈɒm.bʊdz.mən/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
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🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"El defensor del pueblo investigó las irregularidades cometidas por la agencia local."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    An official appointed to investigate individuals' complaints against maladministration, especially that of public authorities.

    "The local ombudsman helped resolve the dispute between the residents and the municipal council regarding community surveillance."
  2. 2

    An official in a private organization, such as a university or corporation, who investigates employee or customer grievances.

    "She contacted the corporate ombudsman to report ethical concerns within the department."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Borrowed into English in the mid-20th century from Swedish ombudsman, deriving from Old Norse umboðsmaðr meaning 'commissioner' or 'representative', combining umboð (commission, proxy) and maðr (man). Historically denoting an official appointed to represent the interests of the public, the term has expanded globally to describe independent agencies investigating citizen complaints against administrative abuses.

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