stentava a crederlo

stentare a fare qualcosa find it hard to do something, have difficulty doing something

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stentare v. intr.

1 to find* it hard, to have difficulty (in doing); to be hardly able, to be barely able: stentai ad arrivare in fondo, I found it hard to reach the end of it; stenta a farsi capire, he is barely able to make himself understood; stenta un poco a camminare, he has some difficulty in walking; stentava a crederlo, he could hardly believe it // stentare a fare una cosa, ( farla di malavoglia) to be slow in doing sthg.; stenta sempre a pagare, he is always slow in paying (o he always keeps people waiting for their money)

2 ( mancare del necessario) to be in need, to be in want: una famiglia che stenta a mettere insieme il pranzo con la cena, a family that finds it hard to make ends meet

◆ v.tr.: stentare la vita, to scrape a living.

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verbo intransitivo (aus. avere)

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stentare

/sten'tare/ [1]

verbo intransitivo

(aus. avere) stentare a fare to find it hard to do, to have difficulty in doing; stento a crederci I can hardly believe it, I find it hard to believe it; non stento a crederci no wonder.