Ingezakt

Ingezakt is a Dutch past participle meaning sunk inward or subsided. It describes something that has settled downward or become lower than its surroundings. The term is used both literally, for physical subsidence, and figuratively, for decline or loss of stability.

In physical usage, the word can refer to ground, roads, floors, or buildings that have sagged or collapsed due to water, soil conditions, or structural failure. Examples include a road that has ingezakt after heavy rain or an attic floor that has ingezakt under weight. In metaphorical use, it appears in journalism and everyday language to signal a decline, such as omzet is ingezakt (sales have dropped) or populariteit ingezakt (popularity has declined).

Etymology and structure: ingezakt is formed from the prefix in- plus zakken (to sink) with the ge- infix marking the past participle, yielding ingezakt. Dutch grammar typically pairs it with zijn in perfect tenses, as in De dijk is ingezakt. The term is common across general Dutch, including engineering, real estate, and media discourse.

See also: inzakken, verzakken, verzakking, subsidence.