Epämääräisten

Epämääräinen is a Finnish adjective meaning indefinite, vague, or not precisely defined. It is used to describe nouns whose referent or quantity is not clearly specified. The form epämääräisten is the genitive plural of epämääräinen and is used to modify a plural noun in the genitive case, for example epämääräisten asioiden ratkaiseminen, meaning the solving of indefinite matters.

Finnish does not have a dedicated indefinite article like some languages, so indefiniteness is expressed through adjectives, quantifiers, or context. Epämääräisten functions as part of noun phrases that indicate non-specificity when the head noun is in the genitive or when the phrase is used to denote ownership or relation to several indefinite items.

Common usage occurs in academic, linguistic, and everyday language to discuss vagueness or lack of specification. For instance, epämääräisten asioiden selvittäminen refers to clarifying matters that are not clearly defined; epämääräisten käsitteiden semantiikkaa refers to the semantics of undefined concepts. The term can also appear in phrases describing vague references or uncertain elements within a larger argument or analysis.

Related terms include epämääräisyys (indefiniteness or vagueness as a quality), epämääräiset (indefinite plural adjectives or nouns), and other Finnish descriptors that express specificity or generality. Understanding epämääräisten hinges on recognizing its role as a genitive plural modifier that signals indefiniteness within a noun phrase.