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I would like to translate "engage" as in

Engaging in a dialogue

I hesitate to use "acoplando" since I think this has a sexual connotation. I propose "engranando." Do you like this? Do you have a better suggestion?

The context is a scholarly article in the social sciences.

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    The question looks right as is. You have a doubt about the proper word to use in a given construction, and you propose some options of your own. Seems like the proper kind of question to post here.
    – Charlie
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 14:24

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Stupid me. It should be

entablando un diálogo

As offered in a comment, it could also be:

entrar en un diálogo OR iniciar un diálogo

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  • Yes, "entablar" seems right. You can say "entablar una conversación" (note the infinitive, better than the gerund if you have no context). You can also say "iniciar una conversación".
    – Charlie
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 14:28
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    Agreed, as soon as I read the question I was thinking entablar along with others like "iniciar/entrar en" maybe even something off the wall like "concertar"
    – user0721090601
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 14:51
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Engage can also mean "involucrar". It is what I favor for the translation, just because I'm more used to hearing "Engage your customers" which I believe translates as "Involucra a tus clientes".

Can also be used in this context as Engage (somebody) in a conversation (Involucra a alguien en la conversación / Involucra a alguien en el diálogo).

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  • Hmm, I hadn't thought of that one. It sounds a bit weird to my ears (it sounds very... business-speak), almost like hacer que participe en un diálogo). Engaging someone in dialogue in English though could be politico-diplomatic, etc., (e.g. establecer relaciones por medio del diálogo) such that simply enganchar sounds better to me although a bit informal (y que conste, tampoco me suena bien en este contexto), no?
    – user0721090601
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 18:55
  • @guifa, yes, I probably chose the most "business oriented" definition. I would say that someone might be "envuelto en un dialog" but not that "se le envuelve en un diálogo". The best translation will probably have to do with context and even verb tense. I picked "involucrar" because I understood that the question suggested "start a dialog with someone" rather than "already be in a dialog"
    – Diego
    Commented Mar 4, 2017 at 19:27
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Involucrar.

A situation I'm going through prompted me to look the word "engage" in Spanish, because it best reflects the action I took:

I no longer want to engage in a friendship.

Simple.
Trying to translate this, I got a list of words, including acoplar, but none hit it they way I felt it. So I will say:

No me quiero involucrar más contigo.

To the point.

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