despolvorear

A synonym of despolvar/desempolvar — to remove dust from a surface. It's easily and frequently confused with the unrelated espolvorear (to sprinkle a powder onto food, like sugar or cinnamon), which means essentially the opposite action.

• Despolvoreó la repisa antes de colocar los adornos. — She dusted the shelf before setting up the decorations.
• El mueble llevaba meses sin despolvorearse. — The piece of furniture hadn't been dusted in months.
• Despolvoreó cuidadosamente los libros antiguos. — He carefully dusted the old books.

Mixing up despolvorear (remove dust) with espolvorear (sprinkle powder on, like sugar over a cake) — a recipe that says espolvorear azúcar means add sugar on top, the opposite of what despolvorear would suggest.

Often confused with espolvorear.