Nolostuttamaan

Nolostuttamaan is Finnish an infinitive form of the verb nolostuttaa, meaning to cause someone to feel embarrassment or shame. The word carries a clear causative sense: it describes an action that makes another person feel ashamed, uncomfortable, or humiliated. The suffix -maan marks the infinitive form used to express purpose, intention, or to link the verb to certain governing expressions.

The base verb nolostuttaa is transitive and typically governs a direct object referring to the person who is made to feel embarrassed. In practice, common constructions include phrases where nolostuttamaan appears as the infinitive after expressions of purpose or intention, for example: Keskustelun tarkoituksena oli nolostuttamaan haastateltavaa (The purpose of the discussion was to embarrass the interviewee). In everyday language, the more straightforward form nolostuttaa is also used: Hän yritti nolostuttaa minua (He tried to embarrass me).

Nolostuttamiseen, nolostuttamaksi and other case forms illustrate how Finnish facilitates the infinitive’s role in different syntactic contexts. The noun form nolostuttaminen denotes the act or process of embarrassing someone, and nolostuttaminen kirjoituseski describes the act itself as a concept.

Etymologically, nolostuttaa derives from nolo, meaning shameful, with the causative suffix and the verb-building patterns common to Finnish. The term is generally negative in connotation, associated with social pressure, humiliation, or bullying, and is typically discussed in contexts of ethics, dignity, and interpersonal conduct.