Svække

Svække is a Danish verb meaning to reduce the strength, effectiveness, or vitality of something; to make something weaker. It can describe physical strength, resources, influence, credibility, or systems losing force or resilience. The verb is used in everyday language as well as in formal or analytical writing.

In usage, svække takes a direct object when referring to something that is being weakened, for example: "Politikken svækker tilliden" (the policy weakens trust). It can also appear in a passive or intransitive sense: "Musklerne svækkes over tid" or as a passive participle in constructions like "landet er svækket af krisen." The word is common in discussions of economics, security, health, and public policy, but it can also describe gradual deterioration of non-physical aspects, such as institutions or resilience.

Conjugation and forms are typical for Danish -ække verbs. Infinitive: svække. Present tense: svækker. Past tense: svækkede. Supine (past participle form used in perfect tenses): svækket. Present participle: svækkende. Passive or middle voice uses forms like "svækkes" (is weakened) as well as "er svækket" in compound tenses.

Etymology traces svække to older Danish forms and shares cognates with related Scandinavian verbs that express reducing strength or capability. In many contexts, svække is paired with nouns such as tillid, forsvar, eller vækst to convey the idea of diminishing effectiveness or robustness.

See also: svækket (adjective meaning weakened), svækkelse (the act or process of weakening).