The verb trastocar means to disturb, disrupt, or disorganize something. It refers to causing an alteration in a state or condition, often implying a negative impact on order or balance. In Spanish, the frequency of usage is moderate, and it can be encountered in both oral and written contexts, though it may lean more towards formal or literary contexts in writing.
The noise from the construction managed to upset my concentration while I was studying.
La noticia inesperada trastocó todos nuestros planes para el fin de semana.
The unexpected news disturbed all our plans for the weekend.
Cambiar el lugar de la reunión puede trastocar la agenda de muchos.
While trastocar itself may not be commonly used in established idiomatic expressions, it shares contexts relating to disruption and disturbance. Here are a few related expressions used in daily conversations:
The last-minute change upset the order of the event.
Trastocar la rutina:
The holidays caused us to disrupt our daily routine.
Trastocar los planes:
The rain disturbed our plans to go outdoors.
Trastocar la vida:
An accident can disrupt a person's life in an instant.
Trastocar las expectativas:
The verb trastocar comes from the prefix "tras-", which means 'across' or 'behind', combined with "tocar", which means 'to touch'. The term suggests the action of touching or impacting something in a way that alters its state.
In summary, trastocar is a versatile verb that conveys the idea of disrupting or changing the normal order of things, and it can be associated with both everyday language and more formal discourses.