Kahtlusteta

Kahtlusteta is a Finnish linguistic term referring to a passive form derived from the verb kahtlustaa, meaning to suspect. In everyday Finnish, the concept of someone being suspected is most often expressed with words like epäilty, epäillä, or epäilystä; kahtlusteta appears primarily in grammar-focused or formal contexts as a way to discuss the passive or non-finite forms of kahtlustaa.

In Finnish grammar, kahtlustaa is a transitive verb, and its passive forms include kahtlustetaan (present passive), kahtlustettu (past participle), and kahtlustettava (a non-finite form meaning “to be suspected” or “suspectable”). The form kahtlusteta itself is not commonly used as an independent dictionary entry; it is generally encountered as part of analyses of the verb’s passive/construction or in compound forms such as kahtlustettavaksi. Because it is primarily a grammatical form rather than a standalone lexical item, kahtlusteta is more likely to be discussed in linguistic descriptions than in everyday text.

Nuance and usage: kahtlusteta conveys that suspicion exists and that a process of investigation or consideration is taking place, without asserting guilt. In legal and media language, more direct terms like epäilty or epäillä are usually preferred, but kahtlustaa and its derivatives can appear in formal or historical writings.

See also: kahtlustaa, epäilty, epäillä, epäilys, rikos.