Alustamat

Alustamat is a Finnish adjective used to describe statements, claims, or arguments that lack evidence or a solid foundation. It is most often encountered in journalistic, political, and academic discussions about credibility or rhetoric.

Etymology and form: The term is built from the concept of laying a foundation and a negative sense, roughly translating to “not founded.” It functions as an attributive adjective in front of nouns such as väitteet (claims) or argumentit (arguments). In standard Finnish, more common terms for this idea are perustamaton or epäperusteltu.

Usage: The form alustamat is relatively rare and tends to appear in analytic or critical prose. It is used to emphasize that a claim has no basis rather than merely lacking supporting evidence. Because of its stylistic nuance, alustamat can appear in written analyses, editorials, and some rhetorical discussions, but it may be regarded as a marked or formal choice in everyday language.

Examples: Alustamat väitteet levisivät sosiaalisessa mediassa. Hallitus torjui alustamat syytökset. In these contexts, the word signals that the speaker considers the claims to be groundless.

See also: perusteltu (well-founded), epäperusteltu (unfounded), todisteet (evidence), väitteet (claims).