Bahia, Ceará, the Northeast, Pernambuco
/a.ʁeˈta.dʊ/ah-heh-TAH-dooadjective
awesome, amazing, angry
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The all-purpose Northeastern intensifier of approval — a show, a meal or a person can be arretado. Beware the two other senses Priberam records: 'arretado' also means furious, and in informal Brazilian usage it can mean sexually aroused, so intonation and context matter.
Regional patterns, not hard borders. A word may be used outside the highlighted area, and multiple words can coexist in the same region. Falando highlights the strongest and most useful patterns from its sources.
O show de ontem foi arretado!
The show last night was awesome!
Aquele cara é arretado tocando violão.
That guy is amazing at playing guitar.
Meu pai ficou arretado quando viu minha nota.
My dad was furious when he saw my grade.
Hear it, use it in a sentence and get corrected — Falando’s Real Talk and Idioms Trainer are built for words like this. Free for 7 days.
