Erstrebenswerter

Erstrebenswerter is the comparative form of the German adjective erstrebenswert, describing something that is more worthy of being pursued than another option. The base term erstrebenswert comes from erstreben, to strive for, and wert, value, and it denotes that a goal, state, or outcome is valuable enough to justify effort.

Usage and meaning

Erstrebenswert is used mainly in normative, evaluative, or philosophical contexts to classify goals or values as desirable because pursuing them is justified or beneficial. It implies active commitment or worthiness of pursuit, rather than a mere attribute of the object itself. In everyday language it appears in phrases like ein erstrebenswertes Ziel (a goal worth striving for) or ein erstrebenswerter Zustand (a state worthy of striving for).

Inflection and form

As an adjective, erstrebenswert declines to give erstrebenswerter (masculine nominative singular), erstrebenswerte (feminine nominative singular or plural), and erstrebenswertes (neuter nominative singular). The superlative is am erstrebenswertesten. The nominalized form das Erstrebenswerte can be used to refer to the class of things that are worth striving for, though this nominal usage is less common than the attributive usage with a noun.

Synonyms and distinctions

Synonyms include wünschenswert and lohnenswert, though each term carries slightly different nuance: erstrebenswert emphasizes the value of pursuing the goal, wünschenswert stresses desirability, and lohnenswert highlights practical worth or payoff.

See also

erstrebenswert, wünschenswert, lohnenswert, erstreben

Overview

Erstrebenswerter serves as a linguistic marker in German for comparing the normative desirability of goals or states, signaling that one option is more worthy of pursuit than another.