to spare
Loading your saved state.
to spare
To deliberately not punish, injure, kill, or otherwise treat someone or something negatively, even though there is the possibility of doing so.
Der Richter entschied, den Ersttäter zu verschonen und ihm nur eine Geldstrafe aufzuerlegen.
The judge decided to spare the first-time offender and impose only a fine on him.
'Verschonen' (to spare) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' always remains attached to the verb stem 'schonen' (to spare/protect), even in the past participle ('verschont').
Er hat mich mit den Details seiner Reise verschont.
He spared me the details of his trip.
In this meaning, 'verschonen' (to spare) always requires an accusative object. This object is the person or thing that is not treated negatively.
Der Sturm hat zum Glück unser Haus verschont.
Luckily, the storm spared our house.
This meaning is almost always used in the fixed expression 'von etwas (Dativ) verschont bleiben' (to be spared from something). The subject is the person or place that was lucky.
Ich bin diesmal von einer Erkältung verschont geblieben.
This time I was spared from catching a cold.
to concern / affect
'betreffen' and 'verschont bleiben von' often stand in contrast when something negative is involved. If a problem 'betrifft' someone, that person has to do with it or feels its effects. If someone 'von etwas verschont bleibt' (is spared from something), that negative thing does not happen to them. The words can be confused because both appear in sentences about illnesses, damage, or problems. But the direction is different: 'betreffen' means someone is involved or affected; 'verschont bleiben' means someone remains outside of it.
Unser Haus blieb von dem Unwetter zum Glück verschont.
Fortunately, our house was spared from the storm.
Der Stromausfall betrifft heute mehrere Straßen im Stadtteil.
The power outage affects several streets in the neighborhood today.